Chelsea Counsel Co. Decreases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Chelsea Counsel Co. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 44,560 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,155 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 6.0% of Chelsea Counsel Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Chelsea Counsel Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $367.46 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $364.31 and a 200 day moving average of $331.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,344,604. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.78.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to draw bullish attention as investors highlight accelerating Google Cloud growth, improving margins, and a very large backlog that suggests strong demand for AI and cloud services. Alphabet: Google Cloud Is Outperforming Azure And AWS; $462 Billion Backlog Requires More AI Investments
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly increased its Alphabet stake significantly, which is being read as a strong vote of confidence in GOOG’s long-term outlook. Berkshire Hathaway Expands Alphabet (GOOGL) Stake to 58M Shares as Ackman Exits
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s major AI and data-center investments, including a reported $1.5 billion Alabama campus expansion and broader capex plans, are supporting the view that the company is buying future growth. Alphabet (GOOGL) Announces $1.5 Billion Investment Across 2026 And 2027 To Expand Its Alabama Data Center Campus

Alphabet 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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