Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Qtron Investments LLC

Key Points

• Qtron Investments LLC reduced its Alphabet stake by 10% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,050 shares and leaving it with 54,300 shares worth about $17.0 million.
• Alphabet reported a strong latest quarter, with EPS of $5.11 and revenue of $109.9 billion, both above analyst expectations. Quarterly revenue rose 21.8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $376.78.

Qtron Investments LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,300 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,050 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.2% of Qtron Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Qtron Investments LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $356.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. 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's fifty day moving average price is $356.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $329.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.78.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet shareholders approved an expansion of the company’s stock plan and re-elected the board, a routine but shareholder-friendly governance update that signals continuity and support for management. Alphabet Shareholders Approve Stock Plan Expansion, Reelect Board
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, launched a $29.99 monthly “Premier” subscription and added perks like cash back and free cancellations, suggesting Alphabet is still pushing to monetize robotaxi demand in high-usage markets. Waymo launches premier subscription tier
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding its AI footprint through new Google chip plans and continued infrastructure support for Anthropic, reinforcing the view that Google Cloud and its AI ecosystem could benefit from long-term demand. Google in talks with Samsung to make next-generation chips
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted bullish analyst and investor sentiment, including higher earnings estimates and Alphabet’s continued status as a favored large-cap AI name. Analyst estimate updates and AI-stock commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Google said it identified an active cyber extortion campaign targeting Oracle PeopleSoft users via a ShinyHunters exploit; the issue appears to be a threat-intelligence update rather than a direct breach of Alphabet systems. Google says ShinyHunters hackers targeting education sector via Oracle exploit
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini and AI Overview products drew more scrutiny, including reports of search/AI controversy and temporary Workspace AI errors, which may keep debate alive around product quality and AI monetization. Google Stock Drops as AI Overview Faces Fresh Controversy
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on heavy capex and how quickly Alphabet can turn AI spending into durable revenue, especially as some commentary questioned search monetization and data-center economics. Alphabet Stock Opinions on Capital Raise and AI Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied a new trial in the youth social media addiction case involving YouTube, leaving Alphabet exposed to ongoing legal and reputational risk. Meta and Google denied new trial after landmark verdict

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, 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 have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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