Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Wellington Shields Capital Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 125,978 shares valued at about $39.5 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s second-largest holding at 5.8% of the portfolio.
• Alphabet also saw ongoing insider selling, including a recent sale by CAO Amie Thuener O’Toole and another by a major shareholder. In the last three months, insiders sold 193,016 shares worth about $17.3 million.
• Despite the selling, analysts remain broadly positive: Alphabet has a consensus “Buy” rating and average price target of $376, while the stock has also been boosted by strong quarterly results and a higher dividend.

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,978 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,212 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 5.8% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $39,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% during the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,618,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated 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. Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.00.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to show strong AI momentum, including a reported expansion of its Google Cloud partnership with Lovable and reports that Apple may use Google Cloud to help power a revamped Siri. Those deals reinforce demand for Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure. Lovable signs multi-year deal with Google Cloud to up usage 5x, source says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor confidence appears to be supported by major backers, with Berkshire Hathaway and ARK-related buying cited alongside strong analyst interest and price targets near the low-to-mid $400s. That institutional support is helping offset some of the recent weakness. Google Stock Lures in Both Cathie Wood and Berkshire Hathaway as Giant Investors Rush for a Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI spending plan and equity raise remain the biggest focus: the company increased its planned capital raise to about $84.75 billion to fund AI infrastructure, while also guiding capital expenditures as high as $190 billion. Investors see this as a sign of ambition and demand, but also of heavy near-term spending needs. Alphabet to raise $84.75 billion in upsized equity offering to fund AI ambitions
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also reported strong AI usage trends, including Gemini reaching 900 million users, which supports the long-term growth narrative even as the market debates whether AI returns justify the spending surge. Alphabet’s Gemini AI App Surges to 900 Million Users
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was pressured by Alphabet’s massive new equity financing, which raised dilution and return-on-capex questions as the company leans harder into AI buildout. Some investors are worried the AI infrastructure race is becoming too expensive. Google Stock Drops on New Data Center Buildout amid $190B Capex Headache
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI search business also faces new U.K. conduct requirements that let publishers opt out of AI summaries and training use, which could constrain the company’s search monetization and data access over time. UK regulator enforces new competition requirements for Google search
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of quiet layoffs in Google Cloud added to the cautious tone, suggesting Alphabet is still trimming costs even as it ramps spending elsewhere. Google is quietly laying off staff in its cloud division

Alphabet Trading Up 3.8%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $369.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $326.80. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

Alphabet 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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