Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Sells 65,842 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Crestwood Advisors Group LLC reduced its Alphabet stake by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 65,842 shares and leaving it with 724,637 shares valued at about $226.8 million.
• Alphabet’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $5.11 EPS versus the $2.64 consensus and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $412.65.
• The company is rewarding shareholders with a higher quarterly dividend of $0.22, up from $0.21, even as insider selling and antitrust/regulatory risks continue to be noted in the article.

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 724,637 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 65,842 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 3.8% of Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $226,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,910,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605,785 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $12,333,076,000 after acquiring an additional 6,874,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. CICC Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $412.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $382.97 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $339.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.41%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted as a strong AI investment thanks to its vertically integrated AI stack and cloud growth, which some analysts say could help it compete effectively in the booming AI data center market.
• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out new AI-powered ad products at Marketing Live, including Gemini-based ad formats and AI search checkout tools, which could expand ad monetization and strengthen its core advertising business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet may invest up to $190 billion by 2026 underscore its aggressive push into AI and infrastructure, signaling continued long-term spending to defend and grow its leadership position.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Alphabet has the tools to win the AI race and remains a top-ranked growth stock may be reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s earnings and strategic outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit faced service interruptions in some cities due to flooded roads and construction zones, a reminder that the autonomous driving business still has operational hurdles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Google’s AI security challenges and its smart-glasses partnerships adds to the long-term innovation story, but these developments are not likely to move the stock immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union is reportedly preparing to fine Google a high triple-digit million-euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation, increasing regulatory risk for Alphabet’s core business and pressuring sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also appealing a court ruling tied to its search monopoly, keeping antitrust uncertainty alive for investors focused on the durability of its search dominance.

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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