Leelyn Smith LLC Sells 1,438 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Leelyn Smith LLC cut its Alphabet stake by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,438 shares and ending the period with 37,824 shares worth about $11.84 million.
• Alphabet continues to draw strong institutional interest, with major investors such as Berkshire Hathaway and several large asset managers increasing or initiating large positions; roughly 40% of the stock is institutionally owned.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 on revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts have broadly raised price targets and maintained a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

Leelyn Smith LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,824 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,438 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.7% of Leelyn Smith LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Leelyn Smith LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,338,397,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 11,605,785 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 23,402.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 6,118,547 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,487,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 259.1% during the third quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 7,221,115 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,755,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210,434 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $395.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 target price (up from $360.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $407.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $400.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $318.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.20 and a 1 year high of $402.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 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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