Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 4,182 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 88,260 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,182 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.0% of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $27,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,381,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in Alphabet by 31.3% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 84,553 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the third quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA lifted its position in Alphabet by 11.0% during the third quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 431,349 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $105,055,000 after purchasing an additional 42,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the business’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 owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

GOOG opened at $376.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $343.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.30. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.65.

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.