Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,962 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,559 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,962 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.3% of Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. TrueWealth Financial Partners acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. BG Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. BG Investment Services LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.65.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says Alphabet was one of the biggest winners among the Mag 7 this earnings season, helped by accelerating Google Cloud sales and broader AI-driven strength. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Alphabet’s new AI ad formats and shopping tools as potential catalysts for stronger search monetization, higher conversion rates, and increased ad spending. Alphabet’s new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a large $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri, reinforcing investor confidence in its cloud and AI buildout. Google Deepens Missouri Roots with New Data Center, Energy, and Community Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI search and agent features at I/O, which could improve engagement over time, but the rollout also raised concerns about complexity and possible disruption to the traditional search experience. You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo temporarily paused some robotaxi and freeway services after safety issues in flooded roads and construction zones; while this is not core to Alphabet’s profits, it adds execution risk and negative headlines. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet has appealed the U.S. search-monopoly ruling, keeping antitrust overhang and potential remedies in focus for investors. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $379.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $335.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $320.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.25. 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 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.