Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Holdings Lifted by Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,567 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.4% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $337.39 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.73 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $368.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $333.02. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 151,523 shares of company stock worth $4,863,526. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s growth outlook, pointing to rising advertising revenue and AI-driven ad tools as support for further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet is joining the Dow were viewed as a sign of prestige and long-term institutional support for the stock. Google Parent Alphabet Is Joining the Dow. Time to Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly paying Alphabet about $1 billion a year to use Gemini in Siri, highlighting another monetization path for Google’s AI platform even if the deal is smaller than Google’s search-payment arrangement with Apple. Apple Is Paying Google $1 Billion a Year for AI. Here’s Who the Real Winner Is.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in major AI names looks more like short-term investor impatience than a breakdown in the AI trade, suggesting the broader pullback may be a buying opportunity. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance launched a new app and upgraded portfolio-tracking features, which improve the product offering but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. Google Finance Debuts App and Investment Tracking Capabilities
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing renewed concern over AI talent departures, including reports of senior researchers leaving for rivals such as Anthropic and OpenAI, which raises questions about execution in Gemini and its broader AI strategy. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also drawing criticism for tougher negotiations with publishers over AI content access, potentially worsening relations with media partners already seeing traffic declines from AI search changes. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say AI-focused stocks, including Alphabet, are under pressure as investors question whether the “all-in on AI” trade has gone too far in the near term. PLTR, GOOG and MSFT Forecasts – AI Names Struggling at the Moment

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.