Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Trimmed by Troy Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Troy Asset Management cut its Alphabet stake by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 636,651 shares and leaving it with 1,879,693 shares worth about $588.3 million.
• Alphabet continues to attract mixed but mostly positive Wall Street attention, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $413.13.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, while its latest earnings beat expectations with $5.11 EPS and revenue of $109.9 billion.

Troy Asset Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,879,693 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 636,651 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 14.7% of Troy Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $588,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co raised its position in Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Insight 2811 Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock's 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK 'conduct requirement'

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $368.53 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $352.70 and its 200-day moving average is $328.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $408.61. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $390.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $413.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Profile

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.

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