Ascentis Independent Advisors Buys 20,560 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Ascentis Independent Advisors increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 38.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 74,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,560 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.6% of Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,534,239,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 855.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,546,413,000 after acquiring an additional 13,004,828 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 28,950.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,291,926 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,671,986,000 after acquiring an additional 9,259,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $445.00 price target (up from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.73.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Google held steady in June while Claude and Gemini posted strong user growth, and it reiterated a Buy rating, citing Alphabet executives’ comments that Search is in an “expansionary moment” that could support results into 2026. Google holds steady as Claude, Gemini surge in June user growth
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Alphabet (GOOG) to Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reflecting improved earnings optimism and potentially supporting near-term sentiment. Alphabet (GOOG) Upgraded to Strong Buy: Here’s What You Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces highlighted Alphabet’s AI and custom-chip strengths, including the company’s TPU strategy and potential cost advantages from in-house processors, which could improve margins over time. Google’s In-House AI Chip Strategy Could Be a Bigger Threat to Nvidia Than Investors Think. Here’s Why.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet remains one of the market’s most closely watched AI and mega-cap tech names, with multiple articles noting strong investor attention and ongoing debate about its long-term growth profile. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still focused on Alphabet’s rising capital expenditures, which were raised to $180 billion-$190 billion this year, with analysts also expecting second-quarter capex near $44.9 billion; that spending pressure can weigh on margins and sentiment. Alphabet’s $1 Trillion Ad Dominance Is Facing New Threats
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s core advertising dominance is also facing more scrutiny from competitive and structural threats, which may be contributing to the stock’s softer tone despite upbeat AI commentary. Alphabet Vs. Broadcom: Rotate Out of AVGO and into GOOG as a Custom Chip Creator and Hyperscaler Partner

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $352.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.24. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.68 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $371.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $336.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.