Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,978 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,212 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 5.8% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $39,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 29.0% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.00.
Alphabet Stock Performance
NASDAQ GOOG opened at $369.27 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $326.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. 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 the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.28 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.
Trending Headlines about Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to show strong AI momentum, including a reported expansion of its Google Cloud partnership with Lovable and reports that Apple may use Google Cloud to help power a revamped Siri. Those deals reinforce demand for Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure. Lovable signs multi-year deal with Google Cloud to up usage 5x, source says
- Positive Sentiment: Investor confidence appears to be supported by major backers, with Berkshire Hathaway and ARK-related buying cited alongside strong analyst interest and price targets near the low-to-mid $400s. That institutional support is helping offset some of the recent weakness. Google Stock Lures in Both Cathie Wood and Berkshire Hathaway as Giant Investors Rush for a Discount
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI spending plan and equity raise remain the biggest focus: the company increased its planned capital raise to about $84.75 billion to fund AI infrastructure, while also guiding capital expenditures as high as $190 billion. Investors see this as a sign of ambition and demand, but also of heavy near-term spending needs. Alphabet to raise $84.75 billion in upsized equity offering to fund AI ambitions
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also reported strong AI usage trends, including Gemini reaching 900 million users, which supports the long-term growth narrative even as the market debates whether AI returns justify the spending surge. Alphabet’s Gemini AI App Surges to 900 Million Users
- Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was pressured by Alphabet’s massive new equity financing, which raised dilution and return-on-capex questions as the company leans harder into AI buildout. Some investors are worried the AI infrastructure race is becoming too expensive. Google Stock Drops on New Data Center Buildout amid $190B Capex Headache
- Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI search business also faces new U.K. conduct requirements that let publishers opt out of AI summaries and training use, which could constrain the company’s search monetization and data access over time. UK regulator enforces new competition requirements for Google search
- Negative Sentiment: Reports of quiet layoffs in Google Cloud added to the cautious tone, suggesting Alphabet is still trimming costs even as it ramps spending elsewhere. Google is quietly laying off staff in its cloud division
Insider Transactions at Alphabet
In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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.
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