Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its Alphabet stake by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 195,197 shares. The fund still held 2.22 million shares worth about $697.8 million, making Alphabet its fifth-largest position.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.11 versus estimates of $2.68 and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year. The company also announced a small dividend increase to $0.22 per share, or $0.88 annually.
• Wall Street remains largely upbeat on GOOG, with JPMorgan raising its price target to $460 and the consensus rating staying at “Buy.” The article also highlights continued AI-related growth initiatives, including new Gemini features and talks around orbital data centers.

Strs Ohio lowered its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,223,563 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 195,197 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.6% of Strs Ohio's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Strs Ohio's holdings in Alphabet were worth $697,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Alphabet by 5.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,971,769,000 after purchasing an additional 539,679 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.8%

GOOG stock opened at $383.82 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $157.58 and a twelve month high of $398.37. 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's 50 day moving average is $321.91 and its 200-day moving average is $314.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is leaning harder into AI across Android, unveiling Gemini-powered features that can handle more multi-step tasks, plus new “Googlebooks” AI-native laptops and other ecosystem upgrades. That reinforces Alphabet’s AI growth narrative and could help drive more usage across Search, Android, and Chrome. Everything Google announced at its Android Show, from Googlebooks to vibe-coded widgets
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is reportedly in advanced talks with SpaceX to explore orbital data centers, a potentially ambitious expansion of its cloud and AI infrastructure strategy. Investors appear to be reading this as another signal that Google is pushing aggressively to stay ahead in next-generation compute. SpaceX, Google in Talks to Explore Data Centers in Orbit
• Positive Sentiment: Google also expanded its commerce ecosystem by integrating Affirm pay-over-time options into Gemini and Search via Google Pay, which could improve conversion rates and strengthen monetization in AI-driven shopping. Affirm Brings Pay-Over-Time Options to Google AI Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to benefit from strong analyst sentiment after its latest quarter, with multiple buy ratings and price targets clustered above current levels, reflecting confidence in cloud growth and AI monetization. Alphabet Stock (GOOG) Opinions on SpaceX Orbital Data Centers Talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s Threat Intelligence Group said it thwarted an AI-enabled hacking effort, highlighting both its cybersecurity capabilities and the growing risk of AI-powered attacks. The news is important operationally, but its stock impact is likely limited unless it leads to broader enterprise-security adoption. Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is planning to tap debt markets, including a possible first yen bond sale, to fund its heavy AI infrastructure spending. That supports long-term growth ambitions, but it also raises near-term questions about capex intensity and returns on investment. Alphabet considers first yen bond sale to fund AI goals
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Google offered changes to its spam policy in an effort to avoid an EU antitrust fine. While not necessarily a major financial hit, the development keeps regulatory pressure on Alphabet in focus. Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG) Google Offers Spam Policy Changes to Avert EU Antitrust Fine, Reuters Reports

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $362.73.

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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