Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,968 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,388 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.7% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $363.62 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $173.88 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $369.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.35. 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 Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet
In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.19.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on GOOG
Key Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is looking for another strong earnings report from Alphabet, with AI and Google Cloud expected to keep driving growth ahead of the company’s upcoming results. Alphabet Q2 Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Upcoming Report
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google unit joined a €411 million funding round for Proxima Fusion, reinforcing its interest in frontier energy and other long-duration AI-adjacent opportunities. Google, RWE back Proxima Fusion in €411 million financing round
- Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Alphabet as a potential “forever holding” for Berkshire-style investors may be helping reinforce the stock’s long-term AI and cash-flow appeal. Prediction: This Magnificent Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Will Become Berkshire’s Next Forever Holding
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet announced that its Made by Google Pixel event will be held on August 12, which could build anticipation for new hardware updates but is not a major fundamental catalyst by itself. Google’s Pixel event is set for August 12
- Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing Alphabet with Palantir and Taiwan Semiconductor keeps Alphabet in the center of AI-stock debates, but these are mostly valuation and relative-performance discussions rather than direct business news. Palantir Vs. Google: Why Palantir is Surging in July and Should Investors Buy it Over Google?
- Negative Sentiment: TechCrunch reported that Google is expanding AI training to include more user-uploaded media, which could raise fresh privacy concerns and fuel scrutiny over how customer data is used. If you use Google, you’re training its AI. Here’s how to opt out.
- Negative Sentiment: Business Insider noted that Google’s status as a top tech employer is becoming less certain as AI-linked salary competition pushes some talent elsewhere, which could add pressure to retention. Google’s status as the dream tech job is changing. FOMO over AI salaries is only one reason why.
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.
Further Reading
- Five stocks we like better than Alphabet
- Apple and Broadcom Forge a Decade-Long Silicon Fortress
- SK Hynix’s Nasdaq Listing Could Reset the AI Memory Trade
- The AI Chip Sell-Off Looks Scary, But the Real Story May Be Liquidity
- Palantir’s CEO Just Called Out OpenAI and Anthropic
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