Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,783 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 17,872 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT's holdings in Alphabet were worth $50,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $460.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 target price (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $326.57 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $359.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $337.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $188.70 and a one year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet reported a strong second quarter, with revenue up 24% year over year to $119.8 billion and earnings of $9.11 per share, well above estimates. Google Cloud growth, reported at approximately 82%, and continued strength in Search and YouTube reinforced the company’s AI monetization story. Alphabet Stock Is Gaining Monday: What's Going On?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and portfolio managers largely continue to support Alphabet’s long-term outlook. Bullish arguments point to enterprise AI adoption, a roughly $514 billion Cloud backlog, improving Cloud margins and early evidence that AI features can strengthen Search and other services. Berkshire Hathaway’s substantial Alphabet position also provides a notable vote of confidence. Alphabet Q2 Strength Reinforces the Bullish Case
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube reached a multiyear agreement with NBCUniversal to include Peacock content for U.S. YouTube Premium subscribers beginning in 2027. The deal could improve subscription value, engagement and YouTube’s competitive position in streaming. NBCUniversal and YouTube Ink Peacock Deal

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.