Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Beacon Bank & Trust

Key Points

• Beacon Bank & Trust trimmed its Alphabet stake by 3.6% in the first quarter, selling 2,010 shares and leaving it with 53,192 shares worth about $15.3 million. Alphabet remains a meaningful holding for the firm, accounting for 3.1% of its portfolio.
• Insiders have also been selling, including Director John L. Hennessy and insider John Kent Walker, with Alphabet insiders selling a total of 159,415 shares worth about $7.67 million over the last 90 days. Despite that, insiders still own 11.61% of the company.
• Alphabet continues to show strong operating and market momentum, beating quarterly earnings expectations and drawing bullish analyst coverage, with an average price target of $413.73. At the same time, the company faces renewed regulatory and legal pressure, including antitrust scrutiny and an AI training lawsuit.

Beacon Bank & Trust cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,192 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,010 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 3.1% of Beacon Bank & Trust's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Beacon Bank & Trust's holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $277,696,000 after acquiring an additional 93,293 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 274,761 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $86,000,000 after acquiring an additional 23,107 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,902,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted by analysts and market commentators as a top large-cap or “monopoly” stock, with bullish takes pointing to its AI-enabled ad business, cloud exposure, and strong earnings outlook. Here’s Why Alphabet (GOOGL) Is One of the Best Monopoly Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
• Positive Sentiment: Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis called for a U.S.-led AI standards body, reinforcing Alphabet’s leadership role in frontier AI development and potentially supporting long-term investor confidence. Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis calls for U.S. to spearhead AI standards body
• Positive Sentiment: INVIDI announced a collaboration with Google to expand addressable advertising on unconnected set-top boxes, a potentially incremental ad monetization opportunity for Alphabet. INVIDI Technologies Collaborates with Google to Integrate Google Ad Manager...
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports say Alphabet continues to outperform the market and remains favored by growth investors, but these are mostly commentary pieces rather than new business developments. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting broader optimism around Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation, and AI chip strategy, which supports the stock but does not appear to be the main driver of the move. Google Vs. Nvidia: The Hidden Silicon Advantage That Could Let Google Dethrone Nvidia
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing fresh antitrust scrutiny in Switzerland over the removal of the Android “choice screen,” adding to regulatory pressure on its search dominance. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces a new class-action lawsuit from publishers and authors alleging improper use of copyrighted works to train Gemini, raising legal and potential cost risks. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers
• Negative Sentiment: UK and Swiss regulatory actions targeting Google Search and Android data portability also weigh on sentiment because they could weaken Alphabet’s search moat over time. Should UK Search Data Portability Rules For Google Reshape Alphabet’s Competitive Moat (GOOGL) Narrative?

Alphabet Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $359.51 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.48 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company's fifty day moving average price is $371.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. China Renaissance lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $413.73.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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