Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Bought by First National Trust Co

Key Points

• First National Trust Co increased its Alphabet stake by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 270,983 shares valued at about $84.8 million. Alphabet is now the firm’s eighth-largest position and makes up roughly 2.8% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported a strong latest quarter, with EPS of $5.11 versus expectations of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion above forecasts. Analysts now expect the company to earn 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, up from $0.21, signaling a modest increase in shareholder returns. The annualized dividend is $0.88 per share, for a yield of about 0.2%.

First National Trust Co increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 270,983 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,373 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.8% of First National Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. First National Trust Co's holdings in Alphabet were worth $84,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,476,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co increased its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Insight 2811 Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $368.53 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $352.70 and its 200 day moving average is $327.81. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Key Alphabet News

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'

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 29th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, President Capital increased their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Company 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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