Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,803 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,705 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the first quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Pivotal Research reiterated 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. Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.09.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett said he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of Alphabet, giving the stock a high-profile vote of confidence and reinforcing the view that GOOG remains attractive ahead of earnings. Warren Buffett tells CNBC he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market articles said Alphabet’s AI-driven search, cloud growth, and improving earnings outlook could support another results beat, keeping investor sentiment constructive. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s large clean-power purchase and ongoing AI infrastructure investment signal continued support for long-term cloud and AI expansion, which investors may view as a strength. Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet continues to receive favorable brokerage and valuation commentary, with some coverage highlighting strong AI monetization but noting the stock is already pricing in a lot of optimism. GOOGL Stock: Do AI Growth Drivers Justify the Premium Valuation?
• Negative Sentiment: The EU is preparing new fines against Google, adding to regulatory overhang and reminding investors that antitrust risk remains a key issue for the stock. EU Prepares to Fine Google as Part of Increased Big Tech Enforcement
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faced fresh scrutiny from Swiss regulators and new AI-related criticism and lawsuits, which could pressure sentiment around its core search and AI businesses. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature

Alphabet Trading Up 3.6%

GOOG opened at $370.21 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.50 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $368.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $336.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company 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.