Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd Sells 16,090 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Capricorn Fund Managers reduced its stake in Alphabet by 34.1%, selling 16,090 shares in Q4 and now holds 31,066 shares worth $9.724 million (about 2.3% of the firm's portfolio and its 10th largest position).
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — John Kent Walker and CEO Sundar Pichai sold shares in February, and insiders disposed of 2,068,744 shares worth $104.5 million in the past three months.
• Alphabet has mixed near‑term catalysts: analyst upgrades, data‑center power deals and Pentagon discussions around Gemini support momentum, but the EU's DMA proposals forcing broader data access create a major regulatory overhang.

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,066 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 16,090 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.3% of Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NiSource signed a long‑term power supply agreement with an Alphabet unit to support a large Indiana data center, reducing energy‑supply risk and supporting capacity expansion on which cloud/AI revenue depends. NiSource signs long-term power deal with Alphabet, expands Amazon agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Google is negotiating a deal to allow the Pentagon to deploy its Gemini models in classified settings — a potential high‑value government customer and proof point for Gemini’s enterprise/security positioning. Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded consumer AI features: users can now link personal photos to Gemini and Nano Banana for personalized image generation — an engagement and monetization positive for search/assistant and image services. Google will let users connect their photos to the Gemini chatbot and Nano Banana
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: Citi and Phillip Securities raised price targets (Citi to $405; Phillip to $395) and several bullish analyst notes were published ahead of Q1 results, which can support near‑term buying interest. Wall Street sets Google stock price target for the next twelve months Phillip Securities adjusts price target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) highlights Alphabet’s strong earnings‑surprise history and suggests conditions are favorable for another upside surprise in the next report — supportive for investor sentiment ahead of earnings. Will Alphabet (GOOG) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry note: reports about Anthropic exploring custom chips point to broader AI infrastructure shifts that could reshape supplier dynamics (Broadcom, Nvidia) but have indirect implications for Alphabet’s cost/partner ecosystem. Why Anthropic's Custom Chip Plans Could Benefit Broadcom (GOOGL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Google reported blocking a record number of bad ads while suspending fewer advertisers, raising platform‑quality and moderation questions but not an immediate revenue threat. Google is now targeting bad ads over bad actors
• Negative Sentiment: The European Commission told Google it must give rival search engines access to wide ranges of search and chatbot data under DMA compliance proposals — a major regulatory overhang that could affect search advantages, ad targeting data and competitive moat. Google should allow third-party search engines access to data, EU says
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reduced expectations for Alphabet’s stock price, adding a modest negative analyst view amid mixed signals; this may add some selling pressure for momentum traders. Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL Stock Price

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3%

GOOGL opened at $336.02 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.10 and a fifty-two week high of $349.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $306.45 and a 200-day moving average of $300.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at $856,605,814.08. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock worth $104,505,914 in the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on Alphabet from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $405.00 price target (up from $390.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.62.

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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