Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 115,100 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors boosted its Alphabet stake by 18% in Q1, buying 115,100 more shares and bringing its total holding to 753,267 shares worth about $216.1 million.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Alphabet, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.53. Several firms recently raised targets, including TD Cowen, which lifted its target to $475.
• Alphabet continues to show strong operating performance, with its latest quarter beating expectations on both EPS and revenue, while the company also recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 753,267 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 115,100 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.2% of Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $216,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. AlpenGlobal Capital LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $3,267,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 18,116 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,197,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 421 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 127.8% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 21,502 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,168,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of 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-seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $378.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 firm's 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. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Alphabet (GOOG) to a Strong Buy, citing improving earnings expectations and bullish near-term sentiment. Alphabet (GOOG) Upgraded to Strong Buy: Here's What You Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI and cloud outlook, with earnings preview articles pointing to Google Cloud and ad strength as potential drivers of another beat when results are reported on July 22. Google Stock Earnings Preview: Can Google Cloud Power Alphabet’s Next Earnings Beat?
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports framed Alphabet as a preferred AI and digital advertising name, noting resilient search traffic, strong ad monetization, and growing investor interest in its TPU and cloud strategy. Bet on 4 Cloud Computing Stocks to Hedge Against Volatile Markets
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage also pointed out that Alphabet is a trending stock and has recently outperformed the broader market, reflecting strong investor attention rather than a specific new catalyst. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also drew favorable commentary from Jim Cramer and other market voices, who described Google’s long-term contract and AI position as compelling, but these were mostly opinion-based rather than new business updates. Jim Cramer Reveals Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s “Best Contract in the World”
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a headwind, with Google facing a new AI training lawsuit from publishers and separate scrutiny in Switzerland and Germany over Android search defaults and AI Overviews. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about data-center expansion and related costs also weighed on sentiment after New York imposed a moratorium on certain data centers, potentially affecting hyperscaler growth plans. AMZN, GOOGL, META: Hyperscalers Hit as New York State Imposes Moratorium on Data Centers

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $357.33 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $368.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $335.92. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $181.50 and a one year high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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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