Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is HS Management Partners LLC’s Largest Position

HS Management Partners LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,814 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 106,305 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 7.0% of HS Management Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. HS Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $32,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $358.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $344.61 and its 200 day moving average is $325.11. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a boost 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%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion commitment to Alphabet supports the company’s AI strategy and signals strong long-term investor confidence. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Google remains a key beneficiary of AI search growth, suggesting its core search and ad business may hold up better than feared. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,’ Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s stakes in private AI-related companies such as Anthropic and exposure to future IPO optionality may add long-term upside, but this is not a near-term catalyst. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs
• Negative Sentiment: The $80 billion stock sale raised concerns about dilution and the rising cost of Alphabet’s AI expansion, which is pressuring sentiment in the stock. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, which could limit Google’s access to certain government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Five 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.00.

Alphabet Company 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.