Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stake Reduced by Equitable Trust Co.

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. reduced its Alphabet stake by 7% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,895 shares and leaving it with 156,999 shares valued at about $49.3 million. Alphabet remains a meaningful holding, making up 2.2% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Despite the stake reduction by one investor, institutional interest in Alphabet remains broad, with hedge funds and other investors continuing to add positions. The article notes that 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Wall Street sentiment is constructive, with analysts raising targets and maintaining mostly Buy ratings ahead of Google I/O, while Alphabet also reported strong quarterly results and recently increased its dividend. The company beat earnings and revenue estimates, and its stock has traded near its 52-week high.

Equitable Trust Co. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,999 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,895 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.2% of Equitable Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $49,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during 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: Bank of America and other analysts are expecting major Gemini AI announcements at Google I/O, which could reinforce Alphabet’s leadership in AI and support the stock. BofA Sends Blunt Message for Alphabet Investors Ahead of Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Alphabet, and Erste Group also lifted earnings estimates, signaling stronger profit expectations ahead of Google I/O. Alphabet had its price target raised by Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Several investors and funds, including Goldman Sachs and Egerton Capital, disclosed larger Alphabet stakes, suggesting continued institutional confidence. Fund Update: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Google’s Gemini Flash model is quietly gaining AI customers and that Alphabet is expanding AI infrastructure point to improving enterprise demand for its AI products. Google has been quietly gaining AI customers, even before big releases next week
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record 576.5 billion yen bond offering to fund AI capex, showing it still has strong access to capital for its infrastructure buildout. Alphabet completes record-breaking yen bond issuance
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Google is in talks with SpaceX to launch data centers into space is intriguing, but it is still early-stage and speculative. Google in Talks with SpaceX to Launch Data Centers into Space
• Neutral Sentiment: Isomorphic Labs raised $2.1 billion to use AI for drug discovery, which highlights Alphabet’s broader AI ecosystem, but the direct stock impact is limited for now. Isomorphic Labs Raises $2.1 Billion to End Disease With AI
• Negative Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square sharply cut its GOOG and GOOGL positions, adding to concern that some large investors may be taking profits after the run-up. Fund Update: Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary says Alphabet’s heavy AI and cloud spending is pressuring free cash flow, raising questions about near-term margins and valuation. 6.7% AA2 Bond Yield From Alphabet, But There Is a Catch

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $363.40.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $393.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $327.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $316.98. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $399.93. The company has a market cap of $4.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. 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 yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. The trade was a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Company 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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