MML Investors Services LLC Sells 9,137 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

MML Investors Services LLC reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,475,095 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,137 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of MML Investors Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $461,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,419,825 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,383,461,000 after buying an additional 221,309 shares during the period. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,307,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 65.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,054,798 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,257,098,000 after buying an additional 1,609,694 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 7,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, Giverny Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 361,398 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $113,118,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank upped their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google’s legal action against an AI-enabled scam network highlights Alphabet’s role in fighting online fraud and may strengthen trust in its security ecosystem. AI Scam Surge Prompts Google to File Lawsuit
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to Alphabet as a key AI winner, with Gemini, cloud spending, and enterprise demand seen as long-term growth drivers. 3 AI Stocks Poised for Long-Term Gains Despite Strong Year-to-Date Performance
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s increased stake in Alphabet adds a high-profile endorsement and suggests long-term confidence in the stock’s AI and platform value. Berkshire Hathaway’s Greg Abel Just Made a Big Bet on Who Will Win the AI Races

Alphabet Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $369.35 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $361.93 and a 200-day moving average of $330.66.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was 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. 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 have sold 191,966 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,968 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.