Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,452 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,631 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.2% of Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ring Mountain Capital LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

Alphabet Trading Down 4.4%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $353.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $336.58. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $181.50 and a one year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $383.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.