Ceera Investments LLC Sells 10,178 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ceera Investments LLC cut its Alphabet stake by 21% in Q4, selling 10,178 shares and ending with 38,204 shares valued at about $11.96 million. Alphabet remains its third-largest position, making up 4.6% of the portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 and revenue of $109.90 billion, both above analyst expectations. Analysts currently hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $413.13.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, payable June 15, while institutional ownership remains high at 40.03% and insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Ceera Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,204 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 10,178 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 4.6% of Ceera Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ceera Investments LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,338,397,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,910,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 worth $12,333,076,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 23,402.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 6,118,547 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,487,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,513 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $363.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $354.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $328.67.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company'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 value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 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 long-term AI opportunity remains a major bullish theme, with analysts arguing the company’s heavy investment could support future revenue growth and strengthen its competitive position in search, cloud, and AI. Alphabet: CapEx Pressure Is Real, But The Long-Term AI Opportunity Is Bigger
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to benefit from broader AI enthusiasm, including reports that Apple is turning to Google for help with its AI overhaul and that Google’s cloud and AI capabilities are being tied to major customer wins and partnerships. Apple tries again on AI, turns to Google for help
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo remains a strategic asset for Alphabet, with new robotaxi-related developments highlighting the unit’s leadership in autonomous driving and potential to unlock long-term value. Uber, Wayve and Waymo are headed towards a robotaxi showdown in London
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is drawing investor attention after its latest earnings results showed strong quarterly performance, including earnings and revenue that beat expectations, which helps support the stock’s long-term valuation. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s dividend and other capital-return details are also getting attention, but these are unlikely to be the main driver of the stock’s move today. Google to pay dividends next week; Here's how much 100 GOOGL shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are sliding because investors appear worried that Alphabet’s expanding AI spending could pressure margins and require more capital than expected before those investments pay off. What's Going On With Alphabet Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market-wide volatility has also weighed on megacap tech stocks, adding to the weakness in Alphabet despite the company’s long-term AI story. Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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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