Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Grows Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,726 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,315 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $348.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $364.96 and a 200 day moving average of $331.41.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Key AI researchers have left Alphabet for competitors, intensifying worries that the company is losing critical talent needed to lead in generative AI. Reuters: Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also worried that Alphabet’s aggressive AI spending plans, including a large equity raise to fund infrastructure and compute, could dilute shareholders and pressure free cash flow. Quiver Quantitative: Alphabet Slides as AI Funding Plan Fuels Dilution Worries
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a $75 million AI research partnership with A24, showing it is still investing in new AI use cases, but this was overshadowed by the talent-loss narrative. TechCrunch: Google DeepMind bets $75M on AI’s future in Hollywood with A24 deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain strong, with Alphabet’s latest quarter beating expectations on both earnings and revenue, which helps offset some of the negative sentiment. Alphabet stock page

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.