Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Stevens Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its Alphabet stake by 73.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 59,915 shares and leaving it with 21,346 shares valued at about $6.68 million.
• Alphabet’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $5.11 versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on GOOGL, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $412.65, even as insider selling and antitrust concerns remain overhangs.

Stevens Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 73.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,346 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 59,915 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.4% of Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Members Trust Co increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Wing Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,155 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $382.97 on Monday. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $337.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $321.52. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last quarter. Company 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’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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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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