Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Skylands Capital LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Skylands Capital LLC trimmed its Alphabet stake by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, but GOOGL remains its 2nd largest position and about 6.3% of its portfolio, worth $46.4 million at quarter-end.
• Institutional interest in Alphabet remains strong, with major holders like Vanguard, State Street, and others increasing their positions; overall, hedge funds and institutional investors own 40.03% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish on Alphabet amid AI momentum and growth prospects, with multiple firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy; the stock also recently beat earnings expectations and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Skylands Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,300 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 35,385 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 6.3% of Skylands Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Skylands Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $46,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874,381 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, February 16th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $425.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $410.84.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $403.70.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

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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