Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Bollard Group LLC

Bollard Group LLC cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 424,972 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 56,838 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 3.3% of Bollard Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $133,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $358.16 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $357.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Alphabet News Roundup

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.