Connors Investor Services Inc. Has $30.55 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Connors Investor Services increased its Alphabet stake by 41% in the fourth quarter, buying 28,415 more shares and bringing its position to 97,640 shares worth about $30.55 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.64 consensus and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts still expect continued earnings growth this fiscal year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, and Wall Street sentiment remains bullish with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $413.13.

Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,640 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,415 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.6% of Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,154,973 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $987,506,000 after buying an additional 668,971 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 286,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $89,832,000 after buying an additional 37,971 shares during the last quarter. Boundless Plain Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $7,668,000. Clune & Associates LTD. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Clune & Associates LTD. now owns 3,460 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Mack & Associates Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. William Mack & Associates Inc. now owns 7,154 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,239,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $368.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $352.70 and a 200-day moving average of $327.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.00 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Phillip Securities upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock's 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK 'conduct requirement'

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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