Cortland Associates Inc. MO Has $25.81 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Cortland Associates Inc. MO trimmed its Alphabet stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, but still held 82,469 shares valued at about $25.8 million.
• Alphabet’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with $5.11 EPS and $109.9 billion in revenue, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.
• Sentiment around the stock remains upbeat, as several analysts raised price targets and Alphabet continues to push AI initiatives in Google Ads, Google Cloud, and search products, though regulatory risks remain in the EU and UK.

Cortland Associates Inc. MO trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,469 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 3.3% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Cortland Associates Inc. MO's holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $416,217,000. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% during the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 21.2% during the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,171,000 after acquiring an additional 8,746 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,666,577 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $405,131,000 after acquiring an additional 60,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 5.4% during the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 72,608 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value 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 represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Alphabet from $385.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. New Street Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Freedom Capital lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $407.86.

Key Alphabet News

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

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.20 and a 1-year high of $402.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $318.66 and a 200-day moving average of $311.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.01 EPS for the current 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 represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

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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