Capital Investment Counsel LLC Has $15.93 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,394 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,705 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.2% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.3% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 15,607 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,488,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,392 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $284,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, WMG Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $366.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $371.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $334.60. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.77 and a 12 month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank increased their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.54.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are highlighting Alphabet as a top AI stock, with billionaire Jeffrey Talpins reportedly naming it a preferred AI idea, reinforcing confidence in the company’s long-term AI upside. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Is A Top AI Stock To Buy According To Billionaire Jeffrey Talpins
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is being touted as a major growth engine, with commentary suggesting it may be “driving the train” for Alphabet thanks to strong cloud momentum and a large backlog, which supports the bull case for revenue and margin expansion. Is Google Cloud Officially Driving the Train?
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was featured as a “final trade” on CNBC, and several bullish pieces point to continued investor interest in the stock after strong gains over the past year. Netflix, Alphabet, Nike And A Consumer Defensive Stock On CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles noting Alphabet’s strong stock performance and asking whether it is too late to buy may keep the stock in focus, but they mainly reflect momentum rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Down Over 10% From Its All-Time High, Is Now the Perfect Time to Buy Alphabet Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a drag after Europe’s final €4.1 billion Android antitrust ruling, which adds to legal risk around Alphabet’s mobile and search ecosystem. Alphabet (GOOGL) Faces Final €4.1b Android Antitrust Ruling In Europe
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy-related reporting that Google is expanding AI training using user-uploaded media could raise user trust and regulatory concerns, even if it also supports AI model development. If you use Google, you’re training its AI. Here’s how to opt out.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.