Riverbridge Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 210,154 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 20,709 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.5% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $60,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% in 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 during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.78.
Key Stories Impacting Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s advertising business is still growing, with one analyst note pointing to rising ad revenues and AI-driven ad tools as a source of further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
- Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in big tech and AI names looks more like a buying opportunity than a broken AI thesis, and included Alphabet among the core beneficiaries of the AI trend. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to get bullish long-term commentary from investors who see it as a strong growth and AI compounder, helped by Google Cloud momentum and AI monetization potential. Alphabet: Still A Top-Tier AI Compounder
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a notable index inclusion but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Alphabet Set to Join Dow Jones Industrial Average as Verizon Exits Index (GOOG)
- Neutral Sentiment: A new bill would study data-center energy and water measurement standards, which could eventually affect Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure, but it does not create immediate regulation. New Bill: Representative Suhas Subramanyam introduces H.R. 9372: Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act
- Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is centered on Google’s AI talent exodus, with reports of more researchers leaving for rivals like Anthropic, raising worries about execution in Gemini and broader AI competitiveness. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
- Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Google is taking a tougher stance with publishers to secure broader content access for AI training, while publishers warn that traffic declines are already hurting them, adding to regulatory and relationship risk. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
- Negative Sentiment: Several articles this week continued to highlight weakness in the “all-in on AI” trade and pressure on Alphabet shares tied to AI talent losses and competitive fears. Ranking the FAANG Stocks From Most to Least Attractive, Based on Future Cash Flow
Alphabet Price Performance
NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $334.71 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.71 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $366.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.94.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 151,523 shares of company stock valued at $4,863,526 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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