Advisors Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,358 shares and leaving it with 407,159 shares worth about $127.4 million.
• Alphabet insiders have also been selling: director John L. Hennessy and Frances Arnold both reduced their holdings, and insiders sold 157,953 shares total over the last 90 days.
• Despite the selling, Alphabet reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.64 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Advisors Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 407,159 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,358 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.5% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $127,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $401.07 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 fifty day moving average price of $327.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.71. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.00 and a fifty-two week high of $403.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. 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 is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being viewed as a major AI winner, with multiple reports highlighting strong demand for its infrastructure, cloud, and Gemini AI efforts as hyperscalers pour capital into AI. Hyperscalers Now Competing With US Treasury for Capital, Driving Up Government Borrowing Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s stock has been re-rated higher by the market, with analysts and commentators pointing to a stronger valuation profile and improved confidence in its earnings power. Why The Market Is Re-Rating Google Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Pay partnership with Affirm could broaden monetization and make Google’s payments ecosystem more attractive to consumers and merchants. Affirm's Google Deal Aims for Your Wallet (GOOGL)
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Alphabet is gaining momentum in government AI contracts, which could open a new high-value revenue stream and help diversify away from ads. Why Palantir Suddenly Looks Vulnerable After Google’s Move

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on Alphabet from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $407.86.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.