Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 233,880 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,634 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.8% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $67,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s advertising business is still growing, with one analyst note pointing to rising ad revenues and AI-driven ad tools as a source of further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in big tech and AI names looks more like a buying opportunity than a broken AI thesis, and included Alphabet among the core beneficiaries of the AI trend. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to get bullish long-term commentary from investors who see it as a strong growth and AI compounder, helped by Google Cloud momentum and AI monetization potential. Alphabet: Still A Top-Tier AI Compounder
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a notable index inclusion but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Alphabet Set to Join Dow Jones Industrial Average as Verizon Exits Index (GOOG)
• Neutral Sentiment: A new bill would study data-center energy and water measurement standards, which could eventually affect Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure, but it does not create immediate regulation. New Bill: Representative Suhas Subramanyam introduces H.R. 9372: Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is centered on Google’s AI talent exodus, with reports of more researchers leaving for rivals like Anthropic, raising worries about execution in Gemini and broader AI competitiveness. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Google is taking a tougher stance with publishers to secure broader content access for AI training, while publishers warn that traffic declines are already hurting them, adding to regulatory and relationship risk. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles this week continued to highlight weakness in the “all-in on AI” trade and pressure on Alphabet shares tied to AI talent losses and competitive fears. Ranking the FAANG Stocks From Most to Least Attractive, Based on Future Cash Flow

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,523 shares of company stock worth $4,863,526. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $334.71 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $366.33 and a 200-day moving average of $332.06. 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 $172.71 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

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.