Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Reduced by White Pine Investment CO

Key Points

• White Pine Investment CO cut its Alphabet stake by 4.3% in the first quarter, selling 3,603 shares and leaving it with 80,577 shares worth about $23.2 million. Alphabet remains the fund’s second-largest holding at roughly 5.4% of the portfolio.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning about 40.03% of Alphabet shares. Several other funds also made only small adjustments to their positions.
• Alphabet continues to draw bullish attention from Wall Street and investors, supported by its addition to the Dow, upbeat analyst price targets, and a strong recent earnings report that beat expectations on both EPS and revenue.

White Pine Investment CO decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,577 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,603 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 5.4% of White Pine Investment CO's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. White Pine Investment CO's holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet officially joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which boosted demand for the shares and highlighted the company’s growing importance in AI and large-cap tech. Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to bullish Wall Street views, including a higher price target from analysts and commentary that Alphabet remains a strong long-term growth stock. Alphabet Replaces Verizon In Dow Jones As Analyst Boosts Target To $415
• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced Nano Banana 2 Lite, a faster and cheaper AI image/video generator, which may strengthen its competitive position in generative AI. Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signed on to use the OpenUSD stablecoin for money movement, expanding Alphabet’s presence in digital payments and emerging commerce infrastructure. Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: One director disclosed a small stock sale, which is routine and not large enough to signal a major change in fundamentals. Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are targeting Apple and Google app-store fees and payment restrictions, which could pressure Alphabet’s services revenue and app platform economics if rules are tightened. UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Some AI-related headlines noted talent loss to rivals and ongoing concerns about regulatory and AI-related risks, which may limit upside enthusiasm near term. Google hit by new AI brain drain as Anthropic poaches top Gemini talent

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Phillip Securities upped their target price on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 151,467 shares of company stock valued at $4,877,600 in the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1%

GOOGL opened at $357.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $369.61 and a 200-day moving average of $333.53. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.77 and a 52 week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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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