52,025 Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Markel Group Inc.

Key Points

• Markel Group cut its Alphabet stake by 9.1%, selling 52,025 shares in the third quarter. It still held 519,975 shares worth about $178.9 million, representing 1.4% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of Alphabet shares, with several firms initiating or increasing positions while Markel reduced its holding.
• Alphabet reported quarterly EPS of $2.12, below the $3.02 consensus, while revenue of $127.58 billion was slightly under estimates. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Buy,” with an average target price of $412.51.

Markel Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 519,975 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 52,025 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.4% of Markel Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $178,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Premier Financial Group bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 38.5% during the second quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 180 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Latest Alphabet News

These are some of the GOOGL news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage points to Google Cloud’s growth and Alphabet’s AI investments as potential long-term drivers. Berkshire Hathaway has also built a sizable Alphabet position, buying more than 60 million shares since Greg Abel became CEO, a notable vote of confidence. Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Has Nearly $110 Billion Invested in These 2 Tech Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that heavy AI data-center spending could weigh on cash flow, even as the underlying cloud and advertising businesses remain attractive. This could limit near-term enthusiasm if returns on the investment take time to materialize. Alphabet: Punished For Its Cash Flow, Not Its Business
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit against Google and other AI developers seeks to halt frontier AI development, creating potential regulatory and operational uncertainty. Separately, securities class actions allege investors were misled about Gemini development and disclosures; the allegations are not proven, but add legal overhang. Lawsuit Seeks to Halt Frontier AI Development

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $298.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.69. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $270.70 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $329.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.21. The company has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 50.03%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.81 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $325.00 price target (down from $385.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $460.00 to $400.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 target price (down from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. is a technology holding company whose largest business is Google. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google became part of Alphabet when the company reorganized its businesses under the holding-company structure in 2015. Google's products and services include Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Cloud. The company also generates revenue from digital advertising and offers devices, subscriptions and artificial intelligence products and services.

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