Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Sells 5,089 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 88.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 674 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,089 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased 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 valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased 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 valued at $6,618,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $372.58 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $344.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.11. 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 one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This 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 225,516 shares of company stock worth $27,142,399 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s planned $10 billion investment in Alphabet adds a major vote of confidence and helps validate the company’s AI expansion strategy. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary said Google is a clear beneficiary as AI search grows, supporting the view that Alphabet can defend and extend its core search franchise even as AI competition intensifies. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,” Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s ties to high-profile private AI names like Anthropic and SpaceX could give investors additional indirect exposure ahead of possible future IPOs, though this is more of a longer-term optionality story. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs: What That Means For Investors
• Negative Sentiment: The planned $80 billion capital raise may weigh on sentiment because it implies substantial spending needs and potential dilution, even if it strengthens Alphabet’s AI capacity. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, potentially limiting Google’s access to some government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.50.

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.