RNC Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

RNC Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,961 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,394 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares in 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 research analyst reports. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.40.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and other analysts are expecting major Gemini AI announcements at Google I/O, which could reinforce Alphabet’s leadership in AI and support the stock. BofA Sends Blunt Message for Alphabet Investors Ahead of Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Alphabet, and Erste Group also lifted earnings estimates, signaling stronger profit expectations ahead of Google I/O. Alphabet had its price target raised by Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Several investors and funds, including Goldman Sachs and Egerton Capital, disclosed larger Alphabet stakes, suggesting continued institutional confidence. Fund Update: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Google’s Gemini Flash model is quietly gaining AI customers and that Alphabet is expanding AI infrastructure point to improving enterprise demand for its AI products. Google has been quietly gaining AI customers, even before big releases next week
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record 576.5 billion yen bond offering to fund AI capex, showing it still has strong access to capital for its infrastructure buildout. Alphabet completes record-breaking yen bond issuance
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Google is in talks with SpaceX to launch data centers into space is intriguing, but it is still early-stage and speculative. Google in Talks with SpaceX to Launch Data Centers into Space
• Neutral Sentiment: Isomorphic Labs raised $2.1 billion to use AI for drug discovery, which highlights Alphabet’s broader AI ecosystem, but the direct stock impact is limited for now. Isomorphic Labs Raises $2.1 Billion to End Disease With AI
• Negative Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square sharply cut its GOOG and GOOGL positions, adding to concern that some large investors may be taking profits after the run-up. Fund Update: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary says Alphabet’s heavy AI and cloud spending is pressuring free cash flow, raising questions about near-term margins and valuation. 6.7% AA2 Bond Yield From Alphabet, But There Is a Catch

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $393.32 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $327.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $316.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $399.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

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.