First Eagle Investment Management LLC Sells 157,771 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, but Alphabet still remains its largest holding at 4.1% of portfolio value.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 beating estimates and revenue of $109.9 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 21.8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, and analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of Buy.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,369,114 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 157,771 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 4.1% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Alphabet worth $2,312,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $63,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google I/O 2026 showcased major AI products and upgrades, including Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini Spark, AI-powered Search changes, and new monetization features, reinforcing confidence that Alphabet can monetize AI across its core businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and Blackstone announced a $5 billion AI cloud venture built around Google’s TPU chips, which could expand Google Cloud and strengthen Alphabet’s position in AI infrastructure. Google, Blackstone to create new AI cloud company, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary after I/O has been bullish, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Outperform ratings and higher price targets, suggesting the market sees more upside from Alphabet’s AI strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Alphabet’s AI adoption, cloud growth, and record operating margins support the view that the company is not just spending on AI, but improving profitability as well.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some reports note mixed signals from large investors and traders, including portfolio trimming by a few funds and valuation concerns after the stock’s strong run.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced headlines about a director sale and a major shareholder reducing its stake, which may create modest short-term pressure as investors lock in gains. TikTok, YouTube lag on UK child safety as rivals act, regulator says

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $384.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $332.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.68.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $365.23.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

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