Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Lessened by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,210,473 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 101,346 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 4.8% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $348,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

GOOGL opened at $347.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $367.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $338.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.46 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $414.54.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet reportedly developed a new AI server chip, “Frozen v2,” to make Gemini run more efficiently, which could improve margins and help ease compute constraints for Google Cloud. Reuters: Google plans new chip to run Gemini models more efficiently
• Positive Sentiment: Google released new Gemini models, including cheaper and more efficient versions, signaling continued AI product momentum ahead of earnings. TechCrunch: Google releases three new Gemini models
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary remain constructive on Alphabet going into Q2 results, with expectations that Search and Google Cloud can still deliver strong growth. Yahoo Finance: Alphabet Q2 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s earnings report on Wednesday is expected to be a major market test for AI spending, cloud growth, and capital expenditure discipline. Invezz: What to expect from Alphabet’s Q2 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also facing a cluster of securities-fraud investigation headlines, though these are largely legal overhangs at this stage rather than new operational news. PR Newswire: Securities fraud investigation continues
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a flagship Gemini model remains delayed, adding to investor worries that heavy AI spending may not translate into results quickly enough. Reuters: Alphabet’s Gemini delay, spending worries loom over earnings

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.