Smith Salley Wealth Management Purchases 2,482 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,314 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,482 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 4.0% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $79,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 850.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $346.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.22. 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 twelve month low of $166.91 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $365.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.59.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet will join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Verizon, a move that should boost its visibility and could support index-fund demand. Google-Parent Alphabet to Replace Verizon in Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continued to point to Alphabet’s strong AI infrastructure demand and Google Cloud growth as reasons for long-term upside. Alphabet Rides on Accelerating AI Infrastructure Demand: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a $75 million AI research partnership with film studio A24, underscoring continued experimentation with new AI use cases. Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment weakened after reports that another top AI scientist, John Jumper, left DeepMind for Anthropic, adding to fears of an AI brain drain. Google’s YouTube settles with plaintiff ahead of second California trial over social media harm to children, attorneys say
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market coverage highlighted worries about Alphabet’s heavy AI capital spending and the dilution risk tied to its large equity raise, which has pressured the stock. Alphabet Slides as AI Funding Plan Fuels Dilution Worries

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,344,604. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

Alphabet Company 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.