Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC

Key Points

• St. Johns Investment Management reduced its Alphabet position by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,348 shares and leaving it with 18,899 shares worth about $5.9 million.
• Alphabet reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $5.11 versus estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion, both beating analyst expectations.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts currently maintain an overall Moderate Buy view with a consensus price target of $407.86.

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,899 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,348 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.5% of St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $2,309,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 24,845 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,776,000 after buying an additional 4,368 shares during the last quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 16,095 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,408,000 after buying an additional 5,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 2,413 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $401.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $327.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $403.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being viewed as a major AI winner, with multiple reports highlighting strong demand for its infrastructure, cloud, and Gemini AI efforts as hyperscalers pour capital into AI. Hyperscalers Now Competing With US Treasury for Capital, Driving Up Government Borrowing Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s stock has been re-rated higher by the market, with analysts and commentators pointing to a stronger valuation profile and improved confidence in its earnings power. Why The Market Is Re-Rating Google Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Pay partnership with Affirm could broaden monetization and make Google’s payments ecosystem more attractive to consumers and merchants. Affirm's Google Deal Aims for Your Wallet (GOOGL)
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Alphabet is gaining momentum in government AI contracts, which could open a new high-value revenue stream and help diversify away from ads. Why Palantir Suddenly Looks Vulnerable After Google’s Move

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Raymond James Financial raised Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $407.86.

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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