Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd

Key Points

• Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd cut its Alphabet stake by 51.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 18,500 shares and leaving it with 17,400 shares valued at about $5.46 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with Alphabet insiders selling 193,016 shares worth roughly $17.3 million over the past three months, including a recent sale by director John L. Hennessy.
• Alphabet continues to show strong operating performance, reporting Q1 earnings of $5.11 per share versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 51.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,400 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 18,500 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.3% of Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its stake 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 last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1,438.5% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

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 stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion commitment to Alphabet supports the company’s AI strategy and signals strong long-term investor confidence. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Google remains a key beneficiary of AI search growth, suggesting its core search and ad business may hold up better than feared. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,’ Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s stakes in private AI-related companies such as Anthropic and exposure to future IPO optionality may add long-term upside, but this is not a near-term catalyst. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs
• Negative Sentiment: The $80 billion stock sale raised concerns about dilution and the rising cost of Alphabet’s AI expansion, which is pressuring sentiment in the stock. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, which could limit Google’s access to certain government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $358.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $344.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.00.

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.

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