Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.

Key Points

• Sigma Investment Counselors reduced its Alphabet stake by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,344 shares and leaving it with 37,889 shares valued at about $11.86 million.
• Alphabet continues to draw attention for its AI push, including new AI-powered ad products and reports that it may spend up to $190 billion by 2026 on AI and infrastructure.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $412.65.

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,889 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,344 shares during the quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted as a strong AI investment thanks to its vertically integrated AI stack and cloud growth, which some analysts say could help it compete effectively in the booming AI data center market.
• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out new AI-powered ad products at Marketing Live, including Gemini-based ad formats and AI search checkout tools, which could expand ad monetization and strengthen its core advertising business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet may invest up to $190 billion by 2026 underscore its aggressive push into AI and infrastructure, signaling continued long-term spending to defend and grow its leadership position.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Alphabet has the tools to win the AI race and remains a top-ranked growth stock may be reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s earnings and strategic outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit faced service interruptions in some cities due to flooded roads and construction zones, a reminder that the autonomous driving business still has operational hurdles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Google’s AI security challenges and its smart-glasses partnerships adds to the long-term innovation story, but these developments are not likely to move the stock immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union is reportedly preparing to fine Google a high triple-digit million-euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation, increasing regulatory risk for Alphabet’s core business and pressuring sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also appealing a court ruling tied to its search monopoly, keeping antitrust uncertainty alive for investors focused on the durability of its search dominance.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total transaction of $9,859,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $508,028,012.80. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $382.97 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.00 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $339.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.26.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for 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%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. New Street Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $435.00 price objective (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, CICC Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $412.65.

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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