Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 192,801 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Alphabet stake by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 192,801 shares. Even after the sale, Alphabet remained its 5th-largest holding, worth about $986.3 million.
• Alphabet has been getting a boost from AI-related momentum, including stronger Google Cloud sales, new AI ad and shopping tools, and a planned $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri.
• The company continues to face antitrust pressure after appealing the U.S. search-monopoly ruling, even as it recently reported strong quarterly results with revenue up 21.8% year over year and a higher quarterly dividend.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,142,877 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 192,801 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.7% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Alphabet were worth $986,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 91,638 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,756,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Maxele Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $394,000. Williams & Novak LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Williams & Novak LLC now owns 3,152 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 5,889 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,011,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trevian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Trevian Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,593,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Summary

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $379.38 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $335.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $321.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. 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 company has a market cap of $4.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $372.65.

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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