Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. Has $358.47 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,142,353 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 112,218 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 5.6% of Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $358,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

GOOG stock opened at $358.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $357.71 and a 200-day moving average of $329.44.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its 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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase 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 is presently 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

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.

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.