Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s 4th Largest Position

First Manhattan CO. LLC. trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,191,392 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 85,148 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 3.5% of First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,315,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,466 shares of company stock worth $6,957,543. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition watchdog set new requirements for Google Search, demanding greater transparency in ranking results and fairer treatment for businesses, adding to global regulatory scrutiny that could pressure Alphabet’s core search business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google’s search services
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains cautious, with concerns about Alphabet’s high AI spending, heavy capital expenditures, competition, and valuation limiting enthusiasm despite strong growth prospects. AI Spending Is Strengthening the Alphabet (GOOGL) Bull Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet showcased more AI momentum at the G7, where Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis backed a U.S.-led AI coalition, reinforcing the company’s influence in frontier AI policy and investment discussions. CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind call for U.S.-led AI coalition in meeting at G7
• Neutral Sentiment: Google also launched Android 17 and a new Gemini-focused smart speaker, highlighting ongoing product innovation that could support long-term ecosystem growth but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to grow AI usage, a sign that Alphabet’s cloud and enterprise AI business continues to gain traction with major customers. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also expanding its physical and digital footprint, including a $1.5 billion Alabama data center investment and new Google-supported initiatives, which support the company’s AI infrastructure buildout. Alphabet (GOOGL) to Spend $1.5 Billion Expanding Alabama Data Center

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.78.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $362.10 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $361.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.22. 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 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.71%.

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.