Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Sarasin & Partners LLP's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its stake in Alphabet by 10.5% in Q4 to 1,983,500 shares, leaving GOOGL as about 6.4% of the firm's holdings and its 3rd largest position valued at $620.8 million.
• Alphabet beat estimates for the quarter with EPS of $2.82 versus $2.57 expected and revenue of $113.83 billion versus $111.24 billion, reporting a net margin of 32.8% and return on equity of 35.0%.
• Insider selling has been notable recently: CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares (~$10.0M) and insiders have sold about 2.11 million shares (~$118.1M) over the past 90 days.

Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,983,500 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 232,829 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 6.4% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $620,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. GSG Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Neumann Advisory Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Alphabet by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Neumann Advisory Hong Kong Ltd now owns 154,139 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $48,246,000 after acquiring an additional 29,900 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 14,059 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 61,174 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $19,147,000 after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kure Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. Kure Advisory LLC now owns 1,626 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $290.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $316.12 and a 200 day moving average of $294.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded commercial AI partnerships that can drive Google Cloud adoption and future revenue: Openreach will use Google Cloud AI to speed UK fibre rollout and cut fleet emissions, signalling enterprise demand for Google’s AI services. Openreach taps Google AI to speed fibre rollout, cut emissions
• Positive Sentiment: Product/customer wins that validate Gemini and robotics strategy: Google’s DeepMind is partnering with Agile Robots to integrate Gemini Robotics models with hardware, and Gap will enable checkout inside Gemini — both are signs of commercial traction for Google’s AI stack. Google partners with Agile Robots, growing its AI robotics footprint Gap becomes the first major fashion company to offer checkout within Google's Gemini
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional / infrastructure deals show adoption but limited immediate impact on margins: BMO and CME are launching a tokenized cash platform with Google Cloud, a strategic enterprise use-case that supports long-term Cloud revenue diversification. BMO to launch tokenized cash platform with CME and Google Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: New service rollouts expand optionality but are not yet material to revenue: Alphabet’s Wing plans Bay Area drone deliveries, illustrating continued experimentation in logistics and consumer services. Alphabet's Wing to start drone delivery in San Francisco Bay Area
• Neutral Sentiment: Data items on short interest appear inconsistent/zero in the reports provided; treat as unreliable until exchanges confirm filings. (Multiple aggregated short-interest entries)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and policy scrutiny of AI is a clear near-term risk: the EU competition/antitrust chief is meeting Alphabet’s CEO alongside other Big Tech leaders about AI dominance — increased regulatory oversight could pressure multiples or force business changes. EU antitrust chief meets Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon CEOs amidst AI scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment and news flow are weighing on the stock today: several market pieces highlight the share decline and analyst commentary, which can amplify selling pressure even absent new fundamentals. Alphabet (GOOGL) Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market: Important Facts to Note

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $279.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.18.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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