Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Position Cut by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,041 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,778 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.1% of SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding Gemini with new tools aimed at small businesses, which could help broaden adoption and monetize AI services. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s support for Anthropic’s $35 billion AI infrastructure financing deal reinforces its central role in AI buildout and could boost cloud demand. Google Backs $35 Billion Anthropic AI Infrastructure Financing Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Gemini monthly users have doubled highlight strong product momentum and strengthen the long-term AI growth story. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Reports Doubling of Gemini App Monthly Users to 900 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s reported $920 million-per-month AI compute deal with SpaceX may support future growth, but it also signals rising infrastructure spending and AI competition costs. Google’s $920 Million-a-Month Deal Could Supercharge the SpaceX IPO
• Negative Sentiment: A fire at a third-party data center caused intermittent Google Cloud disruptions in India, which could raise reliability concerns for some customers. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Google’s request for a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, leaving legal liability concerns in place. Meta and Google denied new trial after landmark verdict in youth social media addiction case

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $353.32 on Thursday. 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 $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $355.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $328.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.78.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,701. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents 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 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.