Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 347,606 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,310 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.4% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $109,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $330,886,000 after purchasing an additional 806,681 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says Alphabet was one of the biggest winners among the Mag 7 this earnings season, helped by accelerating Google Cloud sales and broader AI-driven strength. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Alphabet’s new AI ad formats and shopping tools as potential catalysts for stronger search monetization, higher conversion rates, and increased ad spending. Alphabet’s new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a large $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri, reinforcing investor confidence in its cloud and AI buildout. Google Deepens Missouri Roots with New Data Center, Energy, and Community Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI search and agent features at I/O, which could improve engagement over time, but the rollout also raised concerns about complexity and possible disruption to the traditional search experience. You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo temporarily paused some robotaxi and freeway services after safety issues in flooded roads and construction zones; while this is not core to Alphabet’s profits, it adds execution risk and negative headlines. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet has appealed the U.S. search-monopoly ruling, keeping antitrust overhang and potential remedies in focus for investors. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total transaction of $37,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $379.38 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $335.54 and a 200 day moving average of $320.81.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.65.

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.