Blume Capital Management Inc. Sells 5,765 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Blume Capital Management cut its Alphabet stake by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,765 shares and leaving it with 76,080 shares valued at about $23.9 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s second-largest holding, accounting for 4.3% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet’s recent earnings beat Wall Street estimates, posting $5.11 EPS versus the expected $2.68 and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $372.65.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, though the yield remains low at about 0.2%. Meanwhile, insider selling has been notable, with executives and directors selling shares in recent months.

Blume Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,080 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,765 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 4.3% of Blume Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Blume Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1,438.5% in the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $385.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.65.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $384.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $340.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.19. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are encouraged by Alphabet’s push to monetize AI in Search, including Gemini-powered ad formats and conversational ads that could expand search advertising revenue. Google Wants Ads to Talk Back in AI Search
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also seeing bullish attention around its AI stack and cloud business, with coverage highlighting TPUs, AI compute services, and product momentum that could support long-term growth. Alphabet Ties AI Hardware Cloud And Ads As EU Scrutiny Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and market commentary remains constructive, with multiple reports pointing to strong prior earnings, elevated price targets, and continued investor interest in GOOG. GOOGL's Innovative Ad Format to Boost Search Growth: What's Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged with insider trading on Polymarket is negative for headlines, but it appears to be an individual legal issue rather than a companywide operational problem. Google Employee Charged With Insider Trading on Polymarket
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitor and user-behavior articles suggest some users are testing alternatives like DuckDuckGo after Google’s AI Search overhaul, highlighting possible search-share pressure, though the long-term impact is still unclear. Some users may be giving Google's AI search the bird, and DuckDuckGo is benefiting
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces mounting regulatory risk, including reports that the EU may issue a record fine over alleged search monopoly practices, which could weigh on sentiment. Market Chatter: Alphabet's Google Nears Record European Union Fine Over Alleged Search Monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Several stories also say Google’s AI search redesign is pushing some users and marketers to rethink reliance on Google, which raises concern that AI changes could disrupt the traditional search ad model. OpenAI is building a new kind of ad machine. Early data suggests Google should worry.

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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