Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Acquired by Ascentis Independent Advisors

Ascentis Independent Advisors lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 170.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,667 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,292 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,712,878,000 after buying an additional 953,790 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after buying an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted Alphabet’s AI advantage, arguing that its control of Search, Android, YouTube, Google Cloud and its chip/model stack gives it one of the best paths to monetize AI at scale. Alphabet vs. Meta: Which AI Stock Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud-related partnerships remain a tailwind, including Accenture’s launch of agentic AI solutions built with Alphabet’s Google Cloud for mid-market firms, reinforcing demand for its enterprise AI offerings. Accenture and Alphabet (GOOGL) Launch Agentic AI Solutions for Mid-Market Firms
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s strong quarterly results and cloud growth continue to drive bullish takes, with investors pointing to revenue growth, AI spending efficiency, and improving profitability as reasons the stock could outperform. Alphabet Stock: Locking In Long-Term Rule Of 40 Supremacy

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $356.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $369.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.74 and a 1 year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.