Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 17,688 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,688 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.8% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 121.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $32,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 100.0% in the second quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $37,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $324.40 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $322.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $350.15. The company has a market cap of $3.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $34,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,224,380. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.55, for a total value of $314,001.15. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,337,229.80. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,070,464 shares of company stock valued at $106,153,077 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $343.47.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and Cloud strength — Alphabet’s Q4 results and analyst takeaways highlighted robust revenue, a fast‑growing Google Cloud (high revenue and margin expansion) and bullish analyst upgrades, reinforcing growth expectations. Alphabet Q4 Takeaway: Doubling Down On Cloud And AI Investments Should Pay Off
• Positive Sentiment: Big bond raise to fund AI buildout — Alphabet is tapping the U.S. high‑grade bond market (reported plan ~ $15B) to fund AI infrastructure and capex, which investors view as backing for long‑term AI monetization. Alphabet’s debt raise fuels forecasts for record year in corporate bond sales
• Positive Sentiment: Legal win limits damages — A court ruling trimmed a previously reported $2.36B penalty tied to past data‑collection practices, reducing near‑term legal overhang. Alphabet (GOOGL)’s Legal Ruling Limits Damages, Analysts Remain Constructive
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo autonomous expansion — Waymo announced fully autonomous operations in Nashville, a concrete execution step for its robotaxi business that supports long‑term service/monetization upside. Waymo goes fully autonomous in Nashville
• Positive Sentiment: Long‑term power deal for data centers — TotalEnergies signed long‑term solar supply pacts to power Google’s Texas data centers, helping secure lower‑cost, sustainable power for AI compute growth. TotalEnergies to provide solar power to Google’s Texas data centres
• Neutral Sentiment: Management flags AI risks even as it raises debt — Alphabet added new AI‑related risk disclosures (including potential ad impacts and long‑duration commercial contracts) in annual filings; investors are parsing how these qualitative risks map to longer‑term revenue/cost outcomes. Alphabet calls out new AI-related risks, as it taps debt market to fund buildout
• Negative Sentiment: New trademark lawsuit over AI video tools — Autodesk sued Google alleging trademark infringement around AI video software branding, adding another legal distraction with unclear but potentially incremental costs. Google sued by Autodesk over AI-powered movie-making software
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling headlines — Recent disclosure of CEO and other insider stock sales adds a near‑term headline risk that some traders watch, though such sales have been frequent historically. Insider Selling: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) CEO Sells $10,893,350.00 in Stock

Alphabet Company 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.