Ascent Group LLC Purchases 2,121 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ascent Group increased its Alphabet stake by 2,121 shares (1.4%) in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 155,913 shares valued at about $53.6 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $412.51; five rate the stock Strong Buy, 45 Buy, and five Hold.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter missed expectations, reporting EPS of $2.12 versus $3.02 forecast and revenue of $127.58 billion versus $127.96 billion expected. The company also announced a $0.22 quarterly dividend.

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,913 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.6% of Ascent Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $53,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $85,403,303,000 after buying an additional 12,718,127 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,040,373 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,900,078,000 after acquiring an additional 8,112,680 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $1,612,704,000. Amundi increased its position in Alphabet by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 31,745,979 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,128,850,000 after buying an additional 3,574,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $1,058,385,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

Investors following GOOGL have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s reported departure has put a spotlight on alternatives to Nvidia. Alphabet’s expanding TPU business could help it compete for AI workloads and gain market share, while its Google Cloud infrastructure also uses AMD processors. Why Alphabet Stock Was Moving Higher Today
• Positive Sentiment: An economist cited Alphabet’s search distribution, advertising business and ability to generate cash as reasons it may be well-positioned despite the AI sell-off. The view supports the case that established customer reach can help the company monetize AI. Is It Too Late to Buy the Dip? 3 Corners of the Market Still Offering Real Value
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that heavy AI data-center spending could weigh on cash flow, even as the underlying cloud and advertising businesses remain attractive. This could limit near-term enthusiasm if returns on the investment take time to materialize. Alphabet: Punished For Its Cash Flow, Not Its Business

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $447.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Moffett Nathanson set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on Alphabet from $445.00 to $387.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $412.51.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock worth $79,238. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $298.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $329.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $338.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $270.70 and a 12-month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). Alphabet had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 50.03%. The business had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $127.96 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 4.59%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc. is a technology holding company whose largest business is Google. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google became part of Alphabet when the company reorganized its businesses under the holding-company structure in 2015. Google's products and services include Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Cloud. The company also generates revenue from digital advertising and offers devices, subscriptions and artificial intelligence products and services.

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