Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Position Trimmed by Van Cleef Asset Management Inc

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 83,756 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,101 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.7% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion commitment to Alphabet supports the company’s AI strategy and signals strong long-term investor confidence. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Google remains a key beneficiary of AI search growth, suggesting its core search and ad business may hold up better than feared. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,’ Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s stakes in private AI-related companies such as Anthropic and exposure to future IPO optionality may add long-term upside, but this is not a near-term catalyst. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs
• Negative Sentiment: The $80 billion stock sale raised concerns about dilution and the rising cost of Alphabet’s AI expansion, which is pressuring sentiment in the stock. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, which could limit Google’s access to certain government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $358.39 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $344.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. 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 is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. 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 report on Thursday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.00.

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.