Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC cut its Alphabet stake by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,324 shares and leaving it with 21,638 shares valued at about $6.79 million.
• Alphabet has been benefiting from strong AI and cloud momentum, with commentary citing accelerating Google Cloud sales, new AI ad formats, and shopping tools as potential boosts to search monetization and ad spending.
• Investor focus remains on both growth and risk: Alphabet announced a $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri, while also facing an ongoing appeal of the U.S. search-monopoly ruling.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,638 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 12,324 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 283,385 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $88,926,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 28,936 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,080,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $542,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 190,654 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $55,015,000 after buying an additional 15,280 shares during the period. Finally, Rollins Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says Alphabet was one of the biggest winners among the Mag 7 this earnings season, helped by accelerating Google Cloud sales and broader AI-driven strength. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Alphabet’s new AI ad formats and shopping tools as potential catalysts for stronger search monetization, higher conversion rates, and increased ad spending. Alphabet's new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a large $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri, reinforcing investor confidence in its cloud and AI buildout. Google Deepens Missouri Roots with New Data Center, Energy, and Community Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI search and agent features at I/O, which could improve engagement over time, but the rollout also raised concerns about complexity and possible disruption to the traditional search experience. You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo temporarily paused some robotaxi and freeway services after safety issues in flooded roads and construction zones; while this is not core to Alphabet’s profits, it adds execution risk and negative headlines. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet has appealed the U.S. search-monopoly ruling, keeping antitrust overhang and potential remedies in focus for investors. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. 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. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.65.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $379.38 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.25. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $335.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.81.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.41%.

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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