Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 411,316 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 18,982 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.3% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $128,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its stake in Alphabet by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $85,557,000 after purchasing an additional 48,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more optimistic on Alphabet’s 2027 outlook, citing strong AI and Google Cloud growth potential. Veteran Analyst Firm Resets Alphabet Forecast for 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced new Gemini features for small businesses, which could help drive AI adoption and future subscription revenue. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighted Alphabet as a strong long-term growth story, supported by Search, Cloud, and AI. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Cloud disruption in India from a third-party facility fire appears temporary, but it underscores operational and infrastructure risk. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Alphabet’s bid for a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, keeping litigation risk alive for YouTube. Market Chatter: Google, Meta Platforms Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case by California Judge
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of Gemini/Google Workspace AI errors and downtime may weigh on sentiment around product reliability. Gemini Is Down? Live Updates on Google Workspace’s AI Errors

Alphabet Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $356.38 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $357.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.64. 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 market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Phillip Securities raised their target price on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.