Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Trimmed by Ruffer LLP

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP sharply reduced its Alphabet stake in the fourth quarter, cutting its holdings by 82.6% to 3,900 shares worth about $1.22 million.
• Alphabet’s latest results topped expectations, with Q1 earnings of $5.11 per share versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, helping support continued bullish analyst sentiment and higher price targets.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, though the yield remains modest at 0.2% and insiders have also recently sold shares.

Ruffer LLP trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 82.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,900 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 18,550 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874,381 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 39,250,829 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,541,877,000 after purchasing an additional 392,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $318.66 and its 200-day moving average is $311.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.20 and a 12-month high of $402.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.01 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. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $407.86.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled upcoming AI-powered bidding and budget-pacing tools for Google Ads, which could make Search and Shopping advertising more efficient and attractive for advertisers. Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets on Alphabet, including DBS Bank to $460 and other firms lifting estimates after the company’s earnings beat, reinforcing the view that results remain stronger than expected. DBS Bank Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet to 460
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s partnership with OTB Group on a generative-AI virtual try-on experience adds to the narrative that Alphabet can monetize AI across enterprise and retail use cases. Google Cloud Partners With OTB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong investor appetite for AI leaders such as Google, and recent coverage continues to frame Alphabet as one of the main beneficiaries of the AI spending cycle. Google, Broadcom Drive Delirious Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports on Google’s AI “agent” efforts and AI search features suggest Alphabet is expanding its product lead in next-generation search and automation tools. Meta, Google enter AI agent race
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also getting more time to address EU regulators’ concerns in an ongoing antitrust investigation, which removes some immediate pressure but does not eliminate the legal overhang. Google Gets More Time in EU Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a new UK lawsuit over online display ads, adding another antitrust/legal risk that could weigh on sentiment if regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Google Faces New UK Lawsuit Over Online Display Ads

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.

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