Solitude Financial Services Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Solitude Financial Services raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 142.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,547 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,261 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.5% of Solitude Financial Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Solitude Financial Services’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westmount Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 20.1% in the first quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 16,036 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,683 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 31,726 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,101,000 after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares during the period. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,699,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $4,941,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $348.78 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $364.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.41. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22.

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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Key AI researchers have left Alphabet for competitors, intensifying worries that the company is losing critical talent needed to lead in generative AI. Reuters: Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also worried that Alphabet’s aggressive AI spending plans, including a large equity raise to fund infrastructure and compute, could dilute shareholders and pressure free cash flow. Quiver Quantitative: Alphabet Slides as AI Funding Plan Fuels Dilution Worries
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a $75 million AI research partnership with A24, showing it is still investing in new AI use cases, but this was overshadowed by the talent-loss narrative. TechCrunch: Google DeepMind bets $75M on AI’s future in Hollywood with A24 deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain strong, with Alphabet’s latest quarter beating expectations on both earnings and revenue, which helps offset some of the negative sentiment. Alphabet stock page

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.