Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Sells 73,854 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Cornerstone Investment Partners reduced its Alphabet stake by 13% in the fourth quarter, selling 73,854 shares. The firm still held 495,493 shares worth about $155.1 million, making Alphabet its largest position.
• Alphabet continues to draw strong support from Wall Street and investors, with several analysts raising price targets and maintaining bullish ratings. The stock also remains widely owned, with institutional investors holding about 40% of shares.
• The company posted a strong quarter, beating earnings and revenue expectations, and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share. Alphabet is also being viewed positively for its AI momentum and funding moves, including a record yen bond sale to support AI infrastructure.

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 495,493 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 73,854 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 6.0% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $155,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th 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 period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $329.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.27. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $403.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $397.00 to $361.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $410.84.

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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