Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Has $6.49 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its Alphabet stake by 7.1% in the first quarter, buying 1,501 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 22,567 shares worth about $6.49 million.
• Alphabet’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.64 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts still expect about 14.3 EPS for the full year.
• The stock continues to draw mixed sentiment: Alphabet recently raised its dividend to $0.22 per share, but the company is also facing concerns over AI talent departures and pressure on AI-related stocks.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,567 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.4% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 4,878 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.2% in the first quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 19,886 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,718,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Presilium Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.4% in the first quarter. Presilium Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 25.8% during the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,902 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% during the first quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 9,734 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $337.39 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $368.94 and its 200 day moving average is $333.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $171.73 and a 1-year high of $408.61. 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:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 151,523 shares of company stock worth $4,863,526 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s growth outlook, pointing to rising advertising revenue and AI-driven ad tools as support for further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet is joining the Dow were viewed as a sign of prestige and long-term institutional support for the stock. Google Parent Alphabet Is Joining the Dow. Time to Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly paying Alphabet about $1 billion a year to use Gemini in Siri, highlighting another monetization path for Google’s AI platform even if the deal is smaller than Google’s search-payment arrangement with Apple. Apple Is Paying Google $1 Billion a Year for AI. Here's Who the Real Winner Is.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in major AI names looks more like short-term investor impatience than a breakdown in the AI trade, suggesting the broader pullback may be a buying opportunity. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance launched a new app and upgraded portfolio-tracking features, which improve the product offering but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. Google Finance Debuts App and Investment Tracking Capabilities
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing renewed concern over AI talent departures, including reports of senior researchers leaving for rivals such as Anthropic and OpenAI, which raises questions about execution in Gemini and its broader AI strategy. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also drawing criticism for tougher negotiations with publishers over AI content access, potentially worsening relations with media partners already seeing traffic declines from AI search changes. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say AI-focused stocks, including Alphabet, are under pressure as investors question whether the “all-in on AI” trade has gone too far in the near term. PLTR, GOOG and MSFT Forecasts – AI Names Struggling at the Moment

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $445.00 target price (up from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $393.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.13.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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