Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Holdings Lowered by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio trimmed its Alphabet stake by 6.2% in the first quarter, selling 138,514 shares. The fund still held 2,085,049 shares valued at about $598.1 million, making Alphabet its fifth-largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish on GOOG, with several firms raising or reiterating positive ratings and price targets. Alphabet currently has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average target price of $376.19.
• Alphabet’s fundamentals and shareholder returns remain strong: it recently reported quarterly EPS of $5.11, beating estimates, while revenue rose 21.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 from $0.21.

Strs Ohio decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,085,049 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 138,514 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.4% of Strs Ohio's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Strs Ohio's holdings in Alphabet were worth $598,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew 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. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $376.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.3%

GOOG traded up $4.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $369.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,879,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,702,299. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.49. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $173.88 and a 52 week high of $404.47.

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 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 business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet-backed Anthropic is reportedly nearing a possible IPO, which could highlight the value of Alphabet’s ownership stake and strengthen investor enthusiasm around its AI investments. Anthropic Could Be a $1 Trillion IPO This Fall. These 2 Stocks Already Own a Piece.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud and enterprise AI positioning received another boost as Anthropic expanded support for Google Cloud tools, reinforcing Alphabet’s role in AI infrastructure. Anthropic Strengthens Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Google Cloud Positioning in Enterprise AI Development
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is continuing to launch new AI models, including Gemini Omni Flash and Nano Banana 2 Lite, which could support product adoption and future revenue growth. Google Just Launched 2 New AI Models. What That Means for GOOGL Stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was named a “final trade” on CNBC by an investor, adding to recent bullish sentiment from commentators. Netflix, Alphabet, Nike And A Consumer Defensive Stock On CNBC's ‘Final Trades'
• Neutral Sentiment: Google invested in Proxima Fusion’s €411 million funding round, signaling interest in long-term frontier tech, but the near-term financial impact on Alphabet is limited. Google, RWE back Proxima Fusion in €411 million financing round
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s expanded AI data collection and training policies may raise privacy concerns, which could create regulatory or reputational risk for the stock. If you use Google, you're training its AI. Here's how to opt out.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that some Google employees are leaving for AI rivals suggest competitive pressure in the talent market, even as Alphabet remains a top tech employer. Google's status as the dream tech job is changing. FOMO over AI salaries is only one reason why.

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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