Hanseatic Management Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,218,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,569,189,000 after buying an additional 1,073,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of GOOG opened at $341.91 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.70 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $363.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $6.23. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.06 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $445.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $383.44.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, driven by strong search, ads, and especially Google Cloud growth. S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower ahead of technology earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated sharply on AI demand, reinforcing the case that Alphabet’s AI investments are translating into revenue. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad revenue rose 13%, adding another sign that Alphabet’s core advertising business remains resilient. YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13% In Q2 To Surpass $11 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Google said Gemini has reached 950 million monthly active users, suggesting improving traction in consumer AI. Google’s Gemini app nips at ChatGPT’s heels as it nears 1 billion users

About Alphabet

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.