XP Advisory US Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,357 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,246,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.2% of XP Advisory US Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $330,886,000 after purchasing an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Alphabet Price Performance
NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $335.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $346.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.40. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.38 and a 1-year high of $404.47.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have commented on the stock. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, HSBC set a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $415.55.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on GOOG
Insider Transactions at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Key Stories Impacting Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Stable search traffic eases competitive concerns. Bank of America reportedly found no meaningful deterioration in Google’s web-traffic data, helping counter fears that AI search tools are taking share from Alphabet’s core search business. Bank of America Spots Reassuring Signal for Google Stock
- Positive Sentiment: Cloud and AI commercialization continue to expand. Google Cloud and Accenture are forming a unit with 1,000 engineers to help enterprises deploy Google’s AI products. Alphabet is also reportedly selling TPU systems directly to customers, potentially creating a new hardware revenue stream, while Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian claimed the company’s AI-chip business is more than twice the size of its closest rival. Google Cloud and Accenture AI Unit
- Positive Sentiment: Energy and infrastructure access may support AI expansion. A $1.9 billion U.S. Energy Department loan to NextEra Energy will help revive an Iowa nuclear plant intended to supply power for Google, potentially improving Alphabet’s long-term access to reliable electricity for data centers. Google’s Revived Nuclear Power Plant Loan
- Neutral Sentiment: Investors remain divided over valuation and capital spending. Analysts and commentators view GOOG as attractively valued relative to cloud growth, but Alphabet’s massive AI-related capital expenditures are pressuring near-term free cash flow and contributing to volatility.
- Negative Sentiment: Project Braid data-center delays raise execution concerns. Alphabet and Blackstone’s AI-cloud venture reportedly faces delays at major data-center sites, highlighting the permitting, construction and power challenges slowing the broader AI buildout. Google and Blackstone Venture Faces Delays
- Negative Sentiment: EU search changes could hurt user experience and business economics. Google says modifications required under the Digital Markets Act will reduce search quality, favor intermediaries over local businesses and increase costs, while exposing Alphabet to continuing regulatory pressure. Google Warns of Lower-Quality European Search Results
About Alphabet
Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google’s core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.
Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.
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