Comerica Bank Has $397.80 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Comerica Bank trimmed its Alphabet stake by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 91,064 shares and leaving it with 1,270,924 shares valued at about $397.8 million. Alphabet remained Comerica’s 7th largest position and made up 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Institutional and analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and maintaining buy ratings. Alphabet now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $410.84.
• Alphabet reported strong financial results and increased its dividend, posting quarterly EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.64 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion. The company also lifted its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

Comerica Bank cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,270,924 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 91,064 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.6% of Comerica Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Comerica Bank's holdings in Alphabet were worth $397,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818 over the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $410.84.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $396.78 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.00 and a 1 year high of $403.70. The company has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $329.30 and a 200 day moving average of $317.27. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

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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