SOL Capital Management CO Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

SOL Capital Management CO cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 63.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,090 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,359 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.7% of SOL Capital Management CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Alphabet by 850.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet-backed Anthropic is reportedly nearing a possible IPO, which could highlight the value of Alphabet’s ownership stake and strengthen investor enthusiasm around its AI investments. Anthropic Could Be a $1 Trillion IPO This Fall. These 2 Stocks Already Own a Piece.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud and enterprise AI positioning received another boost as Anthropic expanded support for Google Cloud tools, reinforcing Alphabet’s role in AI infrastructure. Anthropic Strengthens Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Google Cloud Positioning in Enterprise AI Development
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is continuing to launch new AI models, including Gemini Omni Flash and Nano Banana 2 Lite, which could support product adoption and future revenue growth. Google Just Launched 2 New AI Models. What That Means for GOOGL Stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was named a “final trade” on CNBC by an investor, adding to recent bullish sentiment from commentators. Netflix, Alphabet, Nike And A Consumer Defensive Stock On CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Neutral Sentiment: Google invested in Proxima Fusion’s €411 million funding round, signaling interest in long-term frontier tech, but the near-term financial impact on Alphabet is limited. Google, RWE back Proxima Fusion in €411 million financing round
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s expanded AI data collection and training policies may raise privacy concerns, which could create regulatory or reputational risk for the stock. If you use Google, you’re training its AI. Here’s how to opt out.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that some Google employees are leaving for AI rivals suggest competitive pressure in the talent market, even as Alphabet remains a top tech employer. Google’s status as the dream tech job is changing. FOMO over AI salaries is only one reason why.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $4.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $369.33. 2,879,474 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,702,299. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $333.49. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $173.88 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.19.

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.