Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 10,000 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Alphabet by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 190,654 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,827,000 after purchasing an additional 15,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Violich Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $106,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains broadly bullish, with multiple firms reiterating buy/outperform ratings and several raising price targets, including Wedbush’s $445 target, signaling continued confidence in Alphabet’s long-term earnings power and AI/cloud growth. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Alphabet could beat estimates on strong cloud growth and a larger-than-expected value from its Anthropic stake, which supports the bull case ahead of earnings. Proactive Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett publicly said he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s Alphabet investment and called the stock more likely to be a winner, which adds a high-profile vote of confidence for investors. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Recent institutional filings show major investors like Berkshire Hathaway adding to GOOG/GOOGL positions, reinforcing long-term institutional support for the stock. Quiver Quantitative
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet continues rolling out AI-related product updates, including Google Vids avatar tools and new app integrations in AI Mode, which show product momentum but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. TechCrunch
• Neutral Sentiment: A new lobbying disclosure showed Alphabet spending on privacy, competition, and platform-bias issues, which is routine regulatory activity and not a direct earnings driver. Quiver Quantitative
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union ordered Google to open Android and search data to rival AI and search companies, a regulatory move that could weaken Alphabet’s competitive moat and increase compliance pressure. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is also facing fresh legal and investor scrutiny, including a securities-fraud investigation announcement and a report that its AI search tools may pose safety risks for children, both of which add headline risk. Business Wire
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling has been heavy, with no insider purchases in the last six months, which may weigh on sentiment even if the sales are not necessarily a fundamental red flag. Quiver Quantitative

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $383.44.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of GOOG opened at $353.81 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.50 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $367.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $336.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

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.