Stephens Inc. AR Has $88.86 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its Alphabet stake by 5.5% in the first quarter, selling 17,888 shares and ending with 309,585 shares valued at about $88.9 million.
• Alphabet’s fundamentals remain strong, with the company recently reporting $5.11 EPS on $109.9 billion in revenue, both above expectations, while revenue rose 21.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish on GOOG, citing its AI and cloud momentum, and the stock currently carries a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $376.19.

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 309,585 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 17,888 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of Stephens Inc. AR's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Alphabet were worth $88,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted Alphabet’s AI advantage, arguing that its control of Search, Android, YouTube, Google Cloud and its chip/model stack gives it one of the best paths to monetize AI at scale. Alphabet vs. Meta: Which AI Stock Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud-related partnerships remain a tailwind, including Accenture’s launch of agentic AI solutions built with Alphabet’s Google Cloud for mid-market firms, reinforcing demand for its enterprise AI offerings. Accenture and Alphabet (GOOGL) Launch Agentic AI Solutions for Mid-Market Firms
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s strong quarterly results and cloud growth continue to drive bullish takes, with investors pointing to revenue growth, AI spending efficiency, and improving profitability as reasons the stock could outperform. Alphabet Stock: Locking In Long-Term Rule Of 40 Supremacy

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the sale, the director owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $356.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $369.66 and its 200-day moving average is $335.08. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.74 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.19.

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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