Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $48.83 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,790 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.6% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $48,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,060,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Steginsky Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Steginsky Capital LLC now owns 680,588 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,757,000 after acquiring an additional 6,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 157,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,333,000 after acquiring an additional 18,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding Gemini with new tools aimed at small businesses, which could help broaden adoption and monetize AI services. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s support for Anthropic’s $35 billion AI infrastructure financing deal reinforces its central role in AI buildout and could boost cloud demand. Google Backs $35 Billion Anthropic AI Infrastructure Financing Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Gemini monthly users have doubled highlight strong product momentum and strengthen the long-term AI growth story. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Reports Doubling of Gemini App Monthly Users to 900 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s reported $920 million-per-month AI compute deal with SpaceX may support future growth, but it also signals rising infrastructure spending and AI competition costs. Google’s $920 Million-a-Month Deal Could Supercharge the SpaceX IPO
• Negative Sentiment: A fire at a third-party data center caused intermittent Google Cloud disruptions in India, which could raise reliability concerns for some customers. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Google’s request for a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, leaving legal liability concerns in place. Meta and Google denied new trial after landmark verdict in youth social media addiction case

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOG. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $353.32 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $355.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 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. The company has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.