Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 2,634 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,880 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,634 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $67,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during 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. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during 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. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,701. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 151,523 shares of company stock valued at $4,863,526 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $334.71 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.71 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $366.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $332.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

About Alphabet

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.