First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 2,811 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.9% of First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $53,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction 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 $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 target price (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

GOOG opened at $319.09 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.70 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $360.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

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.