Aureus Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Aureus Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 298,938 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,066 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 6.0% of Aureus Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $93,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,524,841,000 after buying an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,625,595,000 after buying an additional 2,666,676 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $21,630,861,000 after buying an additional 3,218,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $435.00 target price (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $445.00 target price (up from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud is gaining momentum, with HSBC announcing a multi-year partnership to expand its AI usage on Google Cloud, and another AI startup, Ineffable Intelligence, choosing Google Cloud as its preferred infrastructure partner. These deals reinforce Alphabet’s position in enterprise AI and cloud growth. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Google also unveiled a new Gemini-powered Google Home Speaker and broader Android 17/Gemini updates, highlighting continued product rollout across consumer devices and AI features that could support ecosystem engagement over time. Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker
• Positive Sentiment: At the G7, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis joined other AI leaders in calling for a U.S.-led AI coalition, underscoring Alphabet’s influence in shaping the AI industry and keeping Google front and center in policy discussions. CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind call for U.S.-led AI coalition in meeting at G7
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary pieces remain mixed, with some still bullish on Alphabet’s AI and cloud growth while others warn that heavy capital spending, competition, and a stretched valuation could limit upside near term. Alphabet Drops 6% in a Month: Buy, Sell, or Hold the GOOGL Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces fresh regulatory pressure in the U.K., where the competition watchdog set conduct requirements for Google Search to increase fairness and transparency in ranking results. That adds to worries about search monetization and long-term control over its core business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google’s search services

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,466 shares of company stock valued at $6,957,543. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $363.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.00 and a 1-year high of $408.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $364.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Alphabet Company Profile

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.