Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 609,755 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its Alphabet stake by 52.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 609,755 shares and leaving it with 554,111 shares worth about $173.9 million.
• Alphabet continues to draw mixed investor signals: while some institutions added positions, insiders have been selling shares as well, including recent sales by CAO Amie Thuener O’Toole and major shareholder GV. Corporate insiders sold 226,481 shares over the last 90 days.
• The company’s fundamentals remain strong, with Q1 earnings beating estimates and revenue rising 21.8% year over year, but investors are also watching AI growth, cloud momentum, and antitrust risk as key factors shaping the stock.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 52.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 554,111 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 609,755 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $173,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,438.5% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

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

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $379.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $335.54 and its 200 day moving average is $321.07.

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, 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 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 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $372.65.

About Alphabet

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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