Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 4,537 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its Alphabet stake by 5.4% in the first quarter, selling 4,537 shares and leaving it with 78,726 shares valued at about $22.6 million.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Alphabet, with several analysts maintaining or raising ratings and the stock carrying an average Buy rating and a $376.78 price target.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,726 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,537 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its stake in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $376.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 151,972 shares of company stock valued at $5,016,958 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet officially debuted in the Dow, replacing Verizon, which is driving index-fund demand and signaling stronger institutional recognition for the stock. Reuters: Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Alphabet shares are getting a lift from the Dow addition and renewed enthusiasm for large-cap tech and AI exposure. CNBC: Alphabet stock pops 4% on Dow debut, but the tech giant faces major AI questions
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators view the recent pullback in big tech as a potential buying opportunity, especially given Alphabet’s strong cloud and AI momentum. 24/7 Wall St.: Dan Ives Says the $3 Trillion Tech Wipeout Is a Buying Opportunity. Here's His Case
• Neutral Sentiment: News flow also points to strong AI demand at Google, including compute constraints and limited Gemini capacity, which supports long-term growth but may raise near-term execution concerns. Yahoo Finance: Google Limits Meta's AI Access
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Waymo’s robotaxi pilot with Uber ended in Phoenix, but the vehicles will remain active for autonomous deliveries with DoorDash, limiting the immediate stock impact. CNBC: Waymo and Uber end robotaxi pilot in Phoenix
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles continue to highlight concerns about Alphabet’s aggressive AI spending, talent losses, and recent underperformance versus peers, which could cap upside if investors focus on margins. CNBC: Alphabet stock pops 4% on Dow debut, but the tech giant faces major AI questions

Alphabet Trading Up 5.0%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $351.28 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $173.88 and a one year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $366.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.30.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend 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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