United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 2,682 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

United Asset Strategies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 207,797 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,682 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 5.0% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $65,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its holdings in Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $63,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $397.00 to $361.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $390.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 target price (up from $395.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $407.86.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $400.69 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 stock has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $318.66 and its 200 day moving average is $311.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.20 and a 52 week high of $402.00.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled upcoming AI-powered bidding and budget-pacing tools for Google Ads, which could make Search and Shopping advertising more efficient and attractive for advertisers. Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets on Alphabet, including DBS Bank to $460 and other firms lifting estimates after the company’s earnings beat, reinforcing the view that results remain stronger than expected. DBS Bank Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet to 460
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s partnership with OTB Group on a generative-AI virtual try-on experience adds to the narrative that Alphabet can monetize AI across enterprise and retail use cases. Google Cloud Partners With OTB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong investor appetite for AI leaders such as Google, and recent coverage continues to frame Alphabet as one of the main beneficiaries of the AI spending cycle. Google, Broadcom Drive Delirious Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports on Google’s AI “agent” efforts and AI search features suggest Alphabet is expanding its product lead in next-generation search and automation tools. Meta, Google enter AI agent race
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also getting more time to address EU regulators’ concerns in an ongoing antitrust investigation, which removes some immediate pressure but does not eliminate the legal overhang. Google Gets More Time in EU Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a new UK lawsuit over online display ads, adding another antitrust/legal risk that could weigh on sentiment if regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Google Faces New UK Lawsuit Over Online Display Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total value of $9,859,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. The trade was a 1.90% 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, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.