E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB reduced its Alphabet stake by 6.1% in the first quarter, selling 9,479 shares and ending with 145,945 shares valued at about $41.9 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.68 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion, topping expectations and rising 21.8% year over year.
• Despite solid fundamentals, the stock has faced mixed signals from AI-related concerns and insider selling, while analysts still mostly rate GOOG a Buy with a consensus target price of $376.78.

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,945 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,479 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's holdings in Alphabet were worth $41,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Key AI researchers have left Alphabet for competitors, intensifying worries that the company is losing critical talent needed to lead in generative AI. Reuters: Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also worried that Alphabet’s aggressive AI spending plans, including a large equity raise to fund infrastructure and compute, could dilute shareholders and pressure free cash flow. Quiver Quantitative: Alphabet Slides as AI Funding Plan Fuels Dilution Worries
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a $75 million AI research partnership with A24, showing it is still investing in new AI use cases, but this was overshadowed by the talent-loss narrative. TechCrunch: Google DeepMind bets $75M on AI's future in Hollywood with A24 deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain strong, with Alphabet’s latest quarter beating expectations on both earnings and revenue, which helps offset some of the negative sentiment. Alphabet stock page

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,344,604 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $348.78 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $364.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.41. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.78.

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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