Forefront Wealth Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Forefront Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,652 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,442 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Forefront Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.65.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $386.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $341.87 and a 200-day moving average of $323.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 6.41%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit is rolling out its new “Ojai” robotaxi to select riders in major U.S. cities, with a roomier design, lower manufacturing costs, and a removable steering wheel — all signs that the autonomous vehicle business may become more scalable and economically viable. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a Google Cloud partnership with EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing cloud and AI as key growth drivers for the company beyond advertising. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and several market notes described Alphabet as a “crucial position” and suggested investors still may be underestimating Waymo’s value, which can help sentiment but does not change fundamentals by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also interest in Alphabet’s AI-search changes and new Gemini-powered ad formats, which could improve monetization over time, but some observers say the overhaul is still controversial and early reactions are mixed. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Federal prosecutors charged a Google software engineer with using confidential information to make about $1.2 million on Polymarket bets, creating unwanted reputational risk for Alphabet and adding headlines that may pressure sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent AI Search overhaul is also drawing criticism, with some users and rival search services benefiting as concerns grow that Google’s changes could hurt traffic patterns and user satisfaction. Article Title

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.