Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

Key Points

• SFE Investment Counsel cut its Alphabet stake by 7% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,882 shares and reducing its holdings to 38,286 shares valued at about $12.0 million.
• Alphabet posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $5.11 versus expectations of $2.68 and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $372.65.

SFE Investment Counsel decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,286 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,882 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.8% of SFE Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value 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. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $379.38 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $335.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $320.81. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.65.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says Alphabet was one of the biggest winners among the Mag 7 this earnings season, helped by accelerating Google Cloud sales and broader AI-driven strength. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Alphabet’s new AI ad formats and shopping tools as potential catalysts for stronger search monetization, higher conversion rates, and increased ad spending. Alphabet's new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a large $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri, reinforcing investor confidence in its cloud and AI buildout. Google Deepens Missouri Roots with New Data Center, Energy, and Community Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI search and agent features at I/O, which could improve engagement over time, but the rollout also raised concerns about complexity and possible disruption to the traditional search experience. You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo temporarily paused some robotaxi and freeway services after safety issues in flooded roads and construction zones; while this is not core to Alphabet’s profits, it adds execution risk and negative headlines. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet has appealed the U.S. search-monopoly ruling, keeping antitrust overhang and potential remedies in focus for investors. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.