Sterling Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 27.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 200,097 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 75,984 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of Sterling Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $57,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth 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. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet officially joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average, prompting a stock lift as passive funds and blue-chip investors rebalance into the shares. Reuters: Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni, cheaper and faster AI image/video models that could strengthen its AI product lineup and improve adoption. TechCrunch: Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: FactSet announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to build AI-powered financial intelligence tools, adding validation for Google Cloud’s enterprise AI push. Yahoo Finance: FactSet Announces Strategic Partnership with Google Cloud to Bring Advanced AI to Financial Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signed on to use OpenUSD for money movement, suggesting additional ecosystem relevance in digital payments and infrastructure. PYMNTS: Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued bullish analyst views and higher price targets, which support sentiment but are not new fundamental changes by themselves.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still worried about Alphabet’s heavy AI spending, with reports noting massive compute-capacity plans and the risk that capital expenditures may weigh on near-term margins. Yahoo Finance: If You Think Alphabet’s AI Spending Is High Now, Just Wait for 2028
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators opened a consultation aimed at loosening app-store payment restrictions, a potential pressure point for Google’s app marketplace economics. TechXplore: UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales, including by director Frances Arnold and CAO Marsida Saraci, may add a small cautionary note even though the sales were modest. SEC filing: Alphabet insider transaction

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 151,467 shares of company stock valued at $4,877,600. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $353.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.22. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $366.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $332.53. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $173.88 and a 52 week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

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.