Jennison Associates LLC Sells 1,995,269 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Jennison Associates cut its Alphabet stake by 9.1%, selling 1,995,269 shares during the first quarter but retaining 19.86 million shares valued at approximately $5.71 billion. Alphabet remains the fund’s sixth-largest holding and represents about 3.9% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported quarterly earnings of $9.11 per share on $119.80 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.89 per share and $117.07 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $419.86, compared with shares opening at $333.71. However, the stock faces risks from heavy AI infrastructure spending, regulatory challenges and recent insider selling.

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,856,010 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,995,269 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.9% of Jennison Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.16% of Alphabet worth $5,709,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co increased its position in Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $333.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $360.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $339.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.82 and a 52 week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. President Capital boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $419.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 23,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $442,112.96. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 285,049 shares of company stock worth $10,051,351 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s second-quarter results showed $119.80 billion in revenue and $112.19 billion in net income, while Google Cloud growth and early AI monetization helped reinforce the long-term investment case. Several analysts remain bullish; Phillip Securities upgraded the stock to “strong buy,” and KeyCorp raised its fiscal 2028 EPS estimate to $17.88 while maintaining an “Overweight” rating and a $445 price target. Alphabet Q2 earnings analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to attract support from value investors and dip buyers, with reports indicating that prominent investors increased their positions. The company also secured a multiyear agreement to bring Peacock content to YouTube Premium subscribers, potentially strengthening YouTube’s subscription and content ecosystem. Investors increase Alphabet positions
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader technology market is volatile ahead of major Big Tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision. That macro uncertainty may be contributing to sharp moves in Alphabet despite its strong fundamentals. Wall Street rebounds ahead of FOMC
• Negative Sentiment: The primary overhang is Alphabet’s plan to spend roughly $195 billion to $205 billion on 2026 capital expenditures, largely for AI infrastructure. Investors are questioning whether the spending will generate adequate returns after Alphabet reportedly posted negative free cash flow for the first time as a public company and paused buybacks under its prior program. A proposed $69.24 billion Class C stock shelf could also raise dilution concerns. Alphabet AI spending and cash concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces additional legal and regulatory risk. European rivals are lining up potential private damages claims after Google lost an initial case under new EU competition rules, while Waymo faces possible federal requirements concerning emergency-response procedures. Major-shareholder sales disclosed in recent SEC filings are a smaller, but potentially negative, sentiment signal. Google faces potential European damages claims

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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