Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Decreased by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,561 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,013 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.9% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight 2811 Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $410.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.73.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.0%

GOOGL opened at $359.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $371.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.22. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.48 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted by analysts and market commentators as a top large-cap or “monopoly” stock, with bullish takes pointing to its AI-enabled ad business, cloud exposure, and strong earnings outlook. Here’s Why Alphabet (GOOGL) Is One of the Best Monopoly Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
• Positive Sentiment: Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis called for a U.S.-led AI standards body, reinforcing Alphabet’s leadership role in frontier AI development and potentially supporting long-term investor confidence. Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis calls for U.S. to spearhead AI standards body
• Positive Sentiment: INVIDI announced a collaboration with Google to expand addressable advertising on unconnected set-top boxes, a potentially incremental ad monetization opportunity for Alphabet. INVIDI Technologies Collaborates with Google to Integrate Google Ad Manager…
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports say Alphabet continues to outperform the market and remains favored by growth investors, but these are mostly commentary pieces rather than new business developments. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting broader optimism around Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation, and AI chip strategy, which supports the stock but does not appear to be the main driver of the move. Google Vs. Nvidia: The Hidden Silicon Advantage That Could Let Google Dethrone Nvidia
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing fresh antitrust scrutiny in Switzerland over the removal of the Android “choice screen,” adding to regulatory pressure on its search dominance. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces a new class-action lawsuit from publishers and authors alleging improper use of copyrighted works to train Gemini, raising legal and potential cost risks. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers
• Negative Sentiment: UK and Swiss regulatory actions targeting Google Search and Android data portability also weigh on sentiment because they could weaken Alphabet’s search moat over time. Should UK Search Data Portability Rules For Google Reshape Alphabet’s Competitive Moat (GOOGL) Narrative?

About Alphabet

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.