SFE Investment Counsel Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

SFE Investment Counsel lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,492 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,794 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.5% of SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett said he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of Alphabet, giving the stock a high-profile vote of confidence and reinforcing the view that GOOG remains attractive ahead of earnings. Warren Buffett tells CNBC he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market articles said Alphabet’s AI-driven search, cloud growth, and improving earnings outlook could support another results beat, keeping investor sentiment constructive. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s large clean-power purchase and ongoing AI infrastructure investment signal continued support for long-term cloud and AI expansion, which investors may view as a strength. Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet continues to receive favorable brokerage and valuation commentary, with some coverage highlighting strong AI monetization but noting the stock is already pricing in a lot of optimism. GOOGL Stock: Do AI Growth Drivers Justify the Premium Valuation?
• Negative Sentiment: The EU is preparing new fines against Google, adding to regulatory overhang and reminding investors that antitrust risk remains a key issue for the stock. EU Prepares to Fine Google as Part of Increased Big Tech Enforcement
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faced fresh scrutiny from Swiss regulators and new AI-related criticism and lawsuits, which could pressure sentiment around its core search and AI businesses. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,615,656.24. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.53.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $370.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $368.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $336.31. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.50 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

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.