Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Position Cut by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors trimmed its Alphabet stake by 1.9% in the first quarter, but the position remains sizable at 2.57 million shares and its second-largest holding, worth about $736.9 million.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on GOOG, with multiple firms raising or reaffirming bullish ratings and price targets. The stock carries a consensus Buy rating and an average target price of $376.78.
• Alphabet continues to show strong fundamentals, recently posting Q1 EPS of $5.11 versus expectations of $2.68 on revenue of $109.9 billion, while also announcing a small dividend increase to $0.22 per share.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,569,074 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 49,956 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.1% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Alphabet were worth $736,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOG. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $376.78.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet officially joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average, prompting a stock lift as passive funds and blue-chip investors rebalance into the shares. Reuters: Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni, cheaper and faster AI image/video models that could strengthen its AI product lineup and improve adoption. TechCrunch: Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: FactSet announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to build AI-powered financial intelligence tools, adding validation for Google Cloud’s enterprise AI push. Yahoo Finance: FactSet Announces Strategic Partnership with Google Cloud to Bring Advanced AI to Financial Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signed on to use OpenUSD for money movement, suggesting additional ecosystem relevance in digital payments and infrastructure. PYMNTS: Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued bullish analyst views and higher price targets, which support sentiment but are not new fundamental changes by themselves.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still worried about Alphabet’s heavy AI spending, with reports noting massive compute-capacity plans and the risk that capital expenditures may weigh on near-term margins. Yahoo Finance: If You Think Alphabet’s AI Spending Is High Now, Just Wait for 2028
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators opened a consultation aimed at loosening app-store payment restrictions, a potential pressure point for Google’s app marketplace economics. TechXplore: UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales, including by director Frances Arnold and CAO Marsida Saraci, may add a small cautionary note even though the sales were modest. SEC filing: Alphabet insider transaction

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company'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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value 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. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 151,467 shares of company stock worth $4,877,600 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $353.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $366.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $332.53. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $173.88 and a one year high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

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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