Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Peregrine Asset Advisers boosted its Alphabet stake by 178.4% in Q4, bringing its holdings to 39,835 shares worth about $12.47 million. Alphabet is now the fund’s 3rd-largest position.
• Alphabet’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.64 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion versus the $106.98 billion forecast. The company also posted strong profitability, including a 37.92% net margin.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts remain mostly bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $412.65.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 178.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,835 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,524 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 3.5% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its holdings in Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $382.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $337.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.26. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 an increase 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.65.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Q1 results were highlighted as one of the strongest among the Mag 7, with Google Cloud showing accelerating sales growth and broader AI momentum helping investor sentiment. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s I/O announcements continued to reinforce Alphabet’s AI story, including new AI search experiences, agent tools, and upcoming AI glasses that suggest the company is expanding beyond traditional search. We tried Google's AI glasses and they're almost there
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with multiple firms reiterating positive views and new AI ad formats seen as potentially boosting conversions and monetization in Search and Commerce. Alphabet's new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled a $15 billion Missouri data center investment, underscoring continued capital spending to support AI infrastructure and cloud demand. Google Unveils $15 Billion Missouri Data Center Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discussed Google’s revamped AI-driven search experience and agent ecosystem, which are strategically important but still too early to measure their near-term financial impact. Google is pitching an AI agent ecosystem to consumers who may not buy it
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo temporarily suspended service in multiple cities after robotaxis drove into flooded roads, adding another safety and execution concern for Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle unit. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s appeal of the antitrust ruling remains the biggest overhang, since a loss or forced remedies could eventually weigh on the company’s core search and advertising economics. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

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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