Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Sells 5,089 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Strategic Financial Concepts LLC cut its Alphabet stake by 88.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,089 shares and leaving it with 674 shares valued at about $212,000.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Alphabet, with analysts issuing multiple buy/strong-buy ratings and a consensus price target of $378.50 for GOOG.
• Alphabet posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $5.11 and revenue of $109.9 billion, both above expectations, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 88.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 674 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,089 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,438.5% during the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $378.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s planned $10 billion investment in Alphabet adds a major vote of confidence and helps validate the company’s AI expansion strategy. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary said Google is a clear beneficiary as AI search grows, supporting the view that Alphabet can defend and extend its core search franchise even as AI competition intensifies. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,” Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s ties to high-profile private AI names like Anthropic and SpaceX could give investors additional indirect exposure ahead of possible future IPOs, though this is more of a longer-term optionality story. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs: What That Means For Investors
• Negative Sentiment: The planned $80 billion capital raise may weigh on sentiment because it implies substantial spending needs and potential dilution, even if it strengthens Alphabet’s AI capacity. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, potentially limiting Google’s access to some government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 225,516 shares of company stock valued at $27,142,399. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $372.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $344.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $325.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Alphabet Company 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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