Blue Trust Inc. Grows Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,561 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,187 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 31 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: Alphabet’s advertising business is still growing, with one analyst note pointing to rising ad revenues and AI-driven ad tools as a source of further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in big tech and AI names looks more like a buying opportunity than a broken AI thesis, and included Alphabet among the core beneficiaries of the AI trend. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to get bullish long-term commentary from investors who see it as a strong growth and AI compounder, helped by Google Cloud momentum and AI monetization potential. Alphabet: Still A Top-Tier AI Compounder
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a notable index inclusion but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Alphabet Set to Join Dow Jones Industrial Average as Verizon Exits Index (GOOG)
• Neutral Sentiment: A new bill would study data-center energy and water measurement standards, which could eventually affect Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure, but it does not create immediate regulation. New Bill: Representative Suhas Subramanyam introduces H.R. 9372: Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is centered on Google’s AI talent exodus, with reports of more researchers leaving for rivals like Anthropic, raising worries about execution in Gemini and broader AI competitiveness. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Google is taking a tougher stance with publishers to secure broader content access for AI training, while publishers warn that traffic declines are already hurting them, adding to regulatory and relationship risk. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles this week continued to highlight weakness in the “all-in on AI” trade and pressure on Alphabet shares tied to AI talent losses and competitive fears. Ranking the FAANG Stocks From Most to Least Attractive, Based on Future Cash Flow

Alphabet Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $334.71 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $366.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.94. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.71 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 151,523 shares of company stock worth $4,863,526 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.