Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 37,084 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,290 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 37,084 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.0% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $40,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its position in Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $403.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $329.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.27.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total transaction of $37,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Phillip Securities raised their price target on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Arete Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Alphabet Profile

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.