Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 6,824 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group trimmed its Alphabet stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,824 shares. It still holds 698,049 shares worth about $218.5 million, making Alphabet its 6th-largest position.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $5.11 beating estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion topping expectations. The company also posted a high net margin of 37.92% and return on equity of 38.99%.
• Alphabet raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, payable June 15. The increase is modest, but it signals continued cash return to shareholders.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 698,049 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,824 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Alphabet were worth $218,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after buying an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% in 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 buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Alphabet by 15.7% in 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 buying an additional 6,874,381 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,034,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $387.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current 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 market capitalization of $4.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $333.00 and a 200-day moving average of $319.32.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS 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 business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and Blackstone announced a $5 billion AI infrastructure joint venture to build TPU-powered cloud capacity, which could deepen demand for Google’s custom chips and expand its AI ecosystem. Google, Blackstone to create new AI cloud company, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Google I/O showcased a broad AI push across Search, Gemini, Workspace, shopping, and video tools, reinforcing the idea that Alphabet is monetizing AI rather than just defending against rivals. Google debuts new AI models, personal AI agents in effort to keep pace with OpenAI and Anthropic
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Arete Research lifting its price target to $425 and maintaining a buy rating, signaling continued upside expectations. Arete Research adjusts price target on Alphabet to $425 from $405
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet said Gemini now has 900 million monthly users and AI Overviews has 2.5 billion monthly users, suggesting its AI products are already reaching scale. Google kicks off I/O conference with AI upgrades for coders, consumers
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed insider sales by a major shareholder, but the transactions appear routine and are not, by themselves, a strong fundamental signal. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are uneasy that Google’s AI-heavy search redesign could disrupt the company’s core ad model, especially as the “ten blue links” era fades. Google Search as you know it is over
• Negative Sentiment: There is also headline risk from broader scrutiny around platform responsibility and YouTube youth-safety issues, which may keep some investors cautious. Alphabet’s $5 Trillion Milestone: How AI Ambitions Are Fueling Google’s Record Run

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. CICC Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $460.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $411.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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