Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Anatole Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• Anatole Investment Management cut its Alphabet stake by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, though Alphabet still remained its second-largest holding at 18.2% of the portfolio. The firm ended the period with 351,645 shares valued at about $110.1 million.
• Alphabet continues to attract mixed institutional and analyst attention, with hedge funds and major investors both adding and trimming positions. Wall Street’s view remains generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.
• The company is facing both strength and pressure: it reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue, but shares were also noted as down 2.5% and Alphabet is dealing with new UK regulatory requirements for Google Search.

Anatole Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 351,645 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 155,157 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 18.2% of Anatole Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Anatole Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $110,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $277,696,000 after purchasing an additional 93,293 shares during the period. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $28,902,000. Private Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,717 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $4,338,397,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud is gaining momentum, with HSBC announcing a multi-year partnership to expand its AI usage on Google Cloud, and another AI startup, Ineffable Intelligence, choosing Google Cloud as its preferred infrastructure partner. These deals reinforce Alphabet’s position in enterprise AI and cloud growth. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Google also unveiled a new Gemini-powered Google Home Speaker and broader Android 17/Gemini updates, highlighting continued product rollout across consumer devices and AI features that could support ecosystem engagement over time. Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker
• Positive Sentiment: At the G7, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis joined other AI leaders in calling for a U.S.-led AI coalition, underscoring Alphabet’s influence in shaping the AI industry and keeping Google front and center in policy discussions. CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind call for U.S.-led AI coalition in meeting at G7
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary pieces remain mixed, with some still bullish on Alphabet’s AI and cloud growth while others warn that heavy capital spending, competition, and a stretched valuation could limit upside near term. Alphabet Drops 6% in a Month: Buy, Sell, or Hold the GOOGL Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces fresh regulatory pressure in the U.K., where the competition watchdog set conduct requirements for Google Search to increase fairness and transparency in ranking results. That adds to worries about search monetization and long-term control over its core business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google's search services

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,466 shares of company stock valued at $6,957,543. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $393.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.13.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $363.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $364.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.35. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.00 and a 1-year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

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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