Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Nelson Capital Management LLC

Nelson Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,702 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,512 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.7% of Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the sale, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, driven by strong search, ads, and especially Google Cloud growth. S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower ahead of technology earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated sharply on AI demand, reinforcing the case that Alphabet’s AI investments are translating into revenue. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad revenue rose 13%, adding another sign that Alphabet’s core advertising business remains resilient. YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13% In Q2 To Surpass $11 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Google said Gemini has reached 950 million monthly active users, suggesting improving traction in consumer AI. Google’s Gemini app nips at ChatGPT’s heels as it nears 1 billion users

Alphabet Stock Down 1.2%

GOOG opened at $341.91 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.70 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $363.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.49. The company has a market cap of $4.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $6.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.71%.

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.