Beta Wealth Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Beta Wealth Group Inc. decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,287 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.4% of Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 7.7% during the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 10.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $358.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $357.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.44. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s drone-delivery unit Wing expanded into seven more U.S. cities with Walmart, reinforcing that its Other Bets can scale into real businesses and may be more valuable than the market gives them credit for.
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly membership program, adding a recurring-revenue layer to its robotaxi business and highlighting rapid growth in paid rides, which investors may see as a meaningful long-term opportunity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and commentary pieces remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and search setup, with some calling it an AI powerhouse and lifting price targets, which supports the stock’s bullish narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is also expanding its real-estate listings nationwide and continuing to deepen its AI infrastructure and chip strategy, reinforcing multiple growth avenues beyond search advertising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google filed suit against an alleged Chinese cybercrime group that used AI to scam victims, a move that shows the company is actively defending its platforms, though the stock impact is likely limited unless the issue escalates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet declined a $2 billion U.S. quantum-computing funding program, saying the terms could slow development; that may be viewed as a strategic choice rather than a major financial event.
• Neutral Sentiment: News that some billionaire investors sold Alphabet in Q1 while others bought more adds to the debate, but it does not change the underlying business fundamentals by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage continues to focus on worries about rising capital expenditures and AI monetization, which can pressure sentiment if investors fear Alphabet’s AI spending will take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI Overview feature has also faced renewed controversy, adding another small overhang around search quality and user trust.

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.