Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management cut its Alphabet stake by 25% in the fourth quarter, selling 214,680 shares and leaving it with 644,809 shares worth about $201.8 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Alphabet, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock holding a Moderate Buy rating and average target of $413.13.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter beat expectations on both earnings and revenue, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 644,809 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 214,680 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.5% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $201,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co increased its position in Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more optimistic on Alphabet’s 2027 outlook, citing strong AI and Google Cloud growth potential. Veteran Analyst Firm Resets Alphabet Forecast for 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced new Gemini features for small businesses, which could help drive AI adoption and future subscription revenue. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighted Alphabet as a strong long-term growth story, supported by Search, Cloud, and AI. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Cloud disruption in India from a third-party facility fire appears temporary, but it underscores operational and infrastructure risk. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Alphabet’s bid for a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, keeping litigation risk alive for YouTube. Market Chatter: Google, Meta Platforms Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case by California Judge
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of Gemini/Google Workspace AI errors and downtime may weigh on sentiment around product reliability. Gemini Is Down? Live Updates on Google Workspace's AI Errors

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Arete Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $413.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $356.38 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.00 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $357.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.