Little House Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Little House Capital LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 24.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,038 shares during the quarter. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in 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 buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $341.91 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $363.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $337.49. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.70 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $6.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $386.88.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, driven by strong search, ads, and especially Google Cloud growth. S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower ahead of technology earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated sharply on AI demand, reinforcing the case that Alphabet’s AI investments are translating into revenue. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad revenue rose 13%, adding another sign that Alphabet’s core advertising business remains resilient. YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13% In Q2 To Surpass $11 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Google said Gemini has reached 950 million monthly active users, suggesting improving traction in consumer AI. Google’s Gemini app nips at ChatGPT’s heels as it nears 1 billion users

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.