Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.

Key Points

• Bronte Capital Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, but Alphabet still made up about 14.1% of the fund’s portfolio and remained its second-largest position.
• Alphabet reported strong Q1 earnings, posting $5.11 EPS versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion versus $106.98 billion estimated, with high margins and analysts forecasting continued profitability.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analyst sentiment stayed positive with multiple firms lifting price targets and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 415,963 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,176 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 14.1% of Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $130,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $382.97 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $337.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $321.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

More 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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. 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 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.65.

Alphabet 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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