Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Costello Asset Management INC's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, but Alphabet still remains its 4th largest holding, representing 6.4% of the portfolio and about $19.5 million in value.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.11 versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, while also lifting its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.22 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on GOOGL, with multiple firms raising price targets and MarketBeat showing a Moderate Buy consensus and average target price of $412.65.

Costello Asset Management INC decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,241 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 6.4% of Costello Asset Management INC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total transaction of $9,859,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares in the company, valued at $508,028,012.80. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $388.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The company's fifty day moving average is $342.73 and its 200 day moving average is $323.73. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is testing Gemini-powered Search ads, including conversational and contextual ad formats that could improve monetization and help offset concerns that AI search may weaken its core advertising model.
• Positive Sentiment: Google and CrowdStrike helped take down a botnet targeting open-source software developers, reinforcing Alphabet’s cybersecurity capabilities and its role in defending the broader internet ecosystem.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports around Google I/O and Alphabet’s broader AI lineup, including new Gemini features and AI search tools, suggest the company is still aggressively innovating to defend its leadership in search and advertising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s $15 billion Missouri AI data hub investment highlights long-term infrastructure spending to support AI growth, but the near-term stock impact is likely limited.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet has drawn market focus from traders and analysts, with prediction-market activity suggesting shares may stay near current levels in the short term.
• Negative Sentiment: DuckDuckGo reported rising installs as some users respond negatively to Google’s AI Search overhaul, raising investor concerns that the redesign could push a portion of users toward competitors.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged that one Google AI Search result was “more opinionated than it should be,” underscoring the risk of AI accuracy issues and potential user trust problems.
• Negative Sentiment: Federal prosecutors charged a Google employee with insider trading tied to Polymarket bets, creating a reputational overhang even though the case appears to involve an individual employee rather than core business operations.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.65.

About Alphabet

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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