First Trust Advisors LP Sells 283,424 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 19.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,159,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 283,424 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $332,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $319.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $360.63 and its 200 day moving average is $337.38. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.70 and a 12 month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

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.