Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 108,981 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,302 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% during the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $353.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $367.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.58. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.50 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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. 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 business’s quarterly revenue 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, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains broadly bullish, with multiple firms reiterating buy/outperform ratings and several raising price targets, including Wedbush’s $445 target, signaling continued confidence in Alphabet’s long-term earnings power and AI/cloud growth. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Alphabet could beat estimates on strong cloud growth and a larger-than-expected value from its Anthropic stake, which supports the bull case ahead of earnings. Proactive Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett publicly said he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s Alphabet investment and called the stock more likely to be a winner, which adds a high-profile vote of confidence for investors. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Recent institutional filings show major investors like Berkshire Hathaway adding to GOOG/GOOGL positions, reinforcing long-term institutional support for the stock. Quiver Quantitative
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet continues rolling out AI-related product updates, including Google Vids avatar tools and new app integrations in AI Mode, which show product momentum but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. TechCrunch
• Neutral Sentiment: A new lobbying disclosure showed Alphabet spending on privacy, competition, and platform-bias issues, which is routine regulatory activity and not a direct earnings driver. Quiver Quantitative
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union ordered Google to open Android and search data to rival AI and search companies, a regulatory move that could weaken Alphabet’s competitive moat and increase compliance pressure. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is also facing fresh legal and investor scrutiny, including a securities-fraud investigation announcement and a report that its AI search tools may pose safety risks for children, both of which add headline risk. Business Wire
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling has been heavy, with no insider purchases in the last six months, which may weigh on sentiment even if the sales are not necessarily a fundamental red flag. Quiver Quantitative

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $383.44.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.