Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Cut by Marco Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Marco Investment Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, but the stock remains a major holding at 2.3% of the portfolio and is still valued at about $30.2 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.11 per share beating estimates and revenue of $109.9 billion topping forecasts. The company also posted solid profitability, including a 38.99% return on equity and 37.92% net margin.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analyst sentiment stays positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $412.65.

Marco Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,616 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,383 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.3% of Marco Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Marco Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frontier Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Asset Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Bensler LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 117,360 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. Ebert Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,232,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Pandora Wealth Inc. now owns 5,314 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 56,903 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,811,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

GOOGL stock opened at $390.13 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.00 and a twelve month high of $408.61. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $344.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.52.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud announced a partnership with Swedish private equity firm EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing Google Cloud’s enterprise AI momentum. Reuters: Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, began opening its new Ojai robotaxi to select riders; the vehicle is designed to be cheaper to manufacture and lower fleet-expansion costs, which could improve the long-term economics of the business. CNBC: Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly reiterated a bullish view on Alphabet Class A shares, adding to the case that investors still see upside in the company’s core businesses and AI initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is testing Gemini-powered Search ad formats, including conversational discovery and highlighted answers, which could eventually boost monetization but is still in the early rollout phase. Yahoo Finance: GOOGL's Innovative Ad Format to Boost Search Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Alphabet’s stock valuation and technical setup, including commentary suggesting support near current levels and possible upside toward $400, but these are market opinions rather than new fundamentals. Finbold: Google stock is guaranteed to hit $400...
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Justice Department charged a Google software engineer with insider trading tied to Polymarket bets, which adds reputational noise and could keep scrutiny on Alphabet’s internal controls and compliance culture. Reuters: US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor commentary, including DuckDuckGo’s criticism of Google’s AI search overhaul and claims that some users are switching away, highlights ongoing competitive and antitrust pressure on Alphabet’s Search franchise. Yahoo Finance: 'It's Time To Fire Google,' Urges Alphabet's Search Engine Rival

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Phillip Securities raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $460.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $412.65.

Alphabet Company 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.

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.