Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 99,321 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,389 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.9% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $3,442,233.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This represents a 35.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,259,266.02. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $169.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.90 and a 12 month high of $191.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.03 and its 200 day moving average is $170.35.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.90.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.