Rathbones Group PLC Sells 195,042 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,712,515 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 195,042 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.1% of Rathbones Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $537,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $376.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $343.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.30. 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 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.65.

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.