Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 937,561 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 88.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 937,561 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.8% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $38,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its position 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s broader AI and cloud story remains strong, with recent commentary highlighting solid earnings momentum, expanding Google Cloud backlog, and ongoing AI-related spending that could support future growth. AI Spending Is Strengthening the Alphabet (GOOGL) Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Google also announced a $1.5 billion investment to expand its Alabama data center campus, reinforcing its long-term infrastructure buildout for AI and cloud demand. Alphabet Announces $1.5 Billion Investment Across 2026 And 2027 To Expand Its Alabama Data Center Campus
• Positive Sentiment: Banking win: HSBC signed an AI deal with Google Cloud, adding another enterprise customer and supporting Alphabet’s cloud adoption narrative. HSBC signs AI deal with Google Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet director John L. Hennessy disclosed a sale of 1,050 shares. Insider selling can draw attention, but the transaction was relatively small versus Alphabet’s overall market value. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo recalled about 3,871 robotaxis after software issues caused some vehicles to enter closed freeway construction zones, renewing safety concerns around Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit. Waymo to recall over 3,800 robotaxis over risk of entering closed construction zones
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also lost Noam Shazeer, a key Gemini AI leader, to OpenAI, which may fuel concerns about competition for top AI talent. Google’s Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: New U.K. rules requiring Google to be more transparent and fair in search rankings add another layer of regulatory pressure on its core search business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google’s search services

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $367.46 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $363.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.