Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Holdings Decreased by Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Gibraltar Capital Management cut its Alphabet position by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,859 shares and leaving it with 65,796 shares valued at about $20.6 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 and revenue of $109.9 billion, both ahead of expectations, while revenue rose 21.8% year over year.
• The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $362.73.

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,796 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,859 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.5% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $61,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said it likely stopped a hacker group from using AI to plan a large-scale cyberattack, underscoring the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities and reducing the risk of a major breach. Reuters: Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remained upbeat on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and Gemini momentum, with some coverage arguing the company could challenge Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. MSN: Alphabet could overtake Nvidia as world's largest company
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance is expanding in Europe, adding another AI-focused product initiative, but this is more of a long-term growth story than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. PYMNTS: Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch

Alphabet Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $386.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $320.46 and a 200-day moving average of $313.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.58 and a 1-year high of $398.37.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $362.73.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

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.