Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 345,038 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 22,180 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $108,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $358.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $357.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.44. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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 net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s drone-delivery unit Wing expanded into seven more U.S. cities with Walmart, reinforcing that its Other Bets can scale into real businesses and may be more valuable than the market gives them credit for.
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly membership program, adding a recurring-revenue layer to its robotaxi business and highlighting rapid growth in paid rides, which investors may see as a meaningful long-term opportunity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and commentary pieces remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and search setup, with some calling it an AI powerhouse and lifting price targets, which supports the stock’s bullish narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is also expanding its real-estate listings nationwide and continuing to deepen its AI infrastructure and chip strategy, reinforcing multiple growth avenues beyond search advertising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google filed suit against an alleged Chinese cybercrime group that used AI to scam victims, a move that shows the company is actively defending its platforms, though the stock impact is likely limited unless the issue escalates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet declined a $2 billion U.S. quantum-computing funding program, saying the terms could slow development; that may be viewed as a strategic choice rather than a major financial event.
• Neutral Sentiment: News that some billionaire investors sold Alphabet in Q1 while others bought more adds to the debate, but it does not change the underlying business fundamentals by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage continues to focus on worries about rising capital expenditures and AI monetization, which can pressure sentiment if investors fear Alphabet’s AI spending will take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI Overview feature has also faced renewed controversy, adding another small overhang around search quality and user trust.

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.