Prospera Financial Services Inc Acquires 2,094 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 248,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.3% of Prospera Financial Services Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $78,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $358.39 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $325.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.00.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet 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.