First Command Advisory Services Inc. Sells 2,361 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

First Command Advisory Services Inc. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,547 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,361 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Team Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock worth $79,238 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $295.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $271.41 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $336.19.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($0.89). Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The company had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.59%.

Alphabet News Roundup

These are some of the GOOG news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet could benefit from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s reported departure, which may encourage cloud customers to diversify chip suppliers and challenge Nvidia’s premium pricing. Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and its chip investments position it to compete for AI-computing demand. Nvidia succession uncertainty opens door for Google TPU and Broadcom, analyst says
• Positive Sentiment: Google and Samsung are preparing AI smart glasses for sale next month, while Google is also extending Gemini into Apple CarPlay. These launches could broaden Gemini’s reach across devices and platforms. Google and Samsung launch AI glasses pre-orders
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s cloud growth and cash generation remain part of the investment case, but commentary also flags the cost of its AI infrastructure expansion as a risk to cash flow and returns. 3 Unstoppable Dow Stocks to Buy in November

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $440.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.38.

About Alphabet

Alphabet is a technology holding company whose primary business is Google. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google became part of Alphabet when the company adopted a holding-company structure in 2015. Sundar Pichai leads Alphabet and Google as chief executive officer. Google offers internet search, online advertising, cloud computing, and software and hardware products. Its services and products include Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Cloud.