World Investment Advisors Purchases 5,055 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 195,709 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 0.9% of World Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $56,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is looking for another strong earnings report from Alphabet, with AI and Google Cloud expected to keep driving growth ahead of the company’s upcoming results. Alphabet Q2 Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Upcoming Report
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google unit joined a €411 million funding round for Proxima Fusion, reinforcing its interest in frontier energy and other long-duration AI-adjacent opportunities. Google, RWE back Proxima Fusion in €411 million financing round
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Alphabet as a potential “forever holding” for Berkshire-style investors may be helping reinforce the stock’s long-term AI and cash-flow appeal. Prediction: This Magnificent Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Will Become Berkshire’s Next Forever Holding
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet announced that its Made by Google Pixel event will be held on August 12, which could build anticipation for new hardware updates but is not a major fundamental catalyst by itself. Google’s Pixel event is set for August 12
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing Alphabet with Palantir and Taiwan Semiconductor keeps Alphabet in the center of AI-stock debates, but these are mostly valuation and relative-performance discussions rather than direct business news. Palantir Vs. Google: Why Palantir is Surging in July and Should Investors Buy it Over Google?
• Negative Sentiment: TechCrunch reported that Google is expanding AI training to include more user-uploaded media, which could raise fresh privacy concerns and fuel scrutiny over how customer data is used. If you use Google, you’re training its AI. Here’s how to opt out.
• Negative Sentiment: Business Insider noted that Google’s status as a top tech employer is becoming less certain as AI-linked salary competition pushes some talent elsewhere, which could add pressure to retention. Google’s status as the dream tech job is changing. FOMO over AI salaries is only one reason why.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Four 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.19.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $363.62 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $369.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $334.35. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. 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 1-year low of $173.88 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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.