Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,551 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $798,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its holdings in Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $435.00 target price (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Arete Research lifted their target price on Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Phillip Securities lifted their target price on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $368.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $408.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $352.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $327.81.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock’s 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK ‘conduct requirement’

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.