Arax Advisory Partners Sells 142,354 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Arax Advisory Partners trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 68.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 65,011 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 142,354 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ariadne Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 8,074 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Brant Point Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Brant Point Investment Management LLC now owns 27,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of GOOG opened at $358.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $357.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.44. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Alphabet News Summary

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.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, 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 transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

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.