Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Confluence Wealth Services cut its Alphabet stake by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,982 shares and leaving it with 36,367 shares valued at about $11.38 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.11 versus estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion, both above analyst expectations.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while several analysts lifted price targets after the earnings beat and maintained a generally positive outlook.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,367 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,982 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. EPG Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,802 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,076,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 433,552 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $135,702,000 after buying an additional 14,385 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 718 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockingstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 19,282 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,035,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.20 and a fifty-two week high of $402.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $318.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.72. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet News Roundup

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp set a $425.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Arete Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $407.86.

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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