Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 7,052 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its Alphabet position by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,052 shares and leaving it with 130,399 shares worth about $40.9 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their Alphabet holdings, and overall 27.26% of the stock is held by institutions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Alphabet, with an average “Buy” rating and a $376 average price target, while the company recently reported strong quarterly results and raised its dividend slightly to $0.22 per share.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,399 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,052 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $40,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1,438.5% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $376.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion commitment to Alphabet supports the company’s AI strategy and signals strong long-term investor confidence. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Google remains a key beneficiary of AI search growth, suggesting its core search and ad business may hold up better than feared. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,’ Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s stakes in private AI-related companies such as Anthropic and exposure to future IPO optionality may add long-term upside, but this is not a near-term catalyst. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs
• Negative Sentiment: The $80 billion stock sale raised concerns about dilution and the rising cost of Alphabet’s AI expansion, which is pressuring sentiment in the stock. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, which could limit Google’s access to certain government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Alphabet Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $358.39 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $344.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $325.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

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