Manhattan West Asset Management LLC Sells 6,893 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Manhattan West Asset Management cut its Alphabet stake by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,893 shares and leaving it with 82,433 shares worth about $25.8 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.11 versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, topping Wall Street estimates.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $412.65.

Manhattan West Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,433 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,893 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 5.3% of Manhattan West Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,908,391. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google I/O showcase highlighted a broad AI push across Search, Gemini, Workspace, shopping, coding, and video tools, reinforcing expectations that Google can monetize AI rather than just defend against competitors. Google debuts new AI models, personal AI agents in effort to keep pace with OpenAI and Anthropic
• Positive Sentiment: Google and Blackstone announced a $5 billion joint venture to build AI cloud infrastructure powered by Google’s TPU chips, which could expand demand for Alphabet’s custom silicon and strengthen its enterprise AI ecosystem. Google, Blackstone to create new AI cloud company, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts turned more constructive after I/O, with firms including BofA, KeyCorp, Citizens JMP, Needham, and others reiterating or raising targets, signaling confidence that Alphabet’s AI strategy is gaining traction. Alphabet analyst forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet said Gemini now has 900 million monthly users and AI Overviews has 2.5 billion monthly users, showing that its AI products are already operating at significant scale. Google kicks off I/O conference with AI upgrades for coders, consumers
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also introduced new AI-powered search and shopping features, including agentic tools and a universal cart, which could open additional monetization opportunities. Google's new Universal Cart wants to follow you across the entire internet
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider and shareholder sales were disclosed, including a director sale and a larger shareholder sale, but these appear to be routine filings rather than a clear signal of changing fundamentals. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Ofcom said YouTube and TikTok have not done enough to protect British children from harmful content, adding another layer of regulatory scrutiny for Alphabet’s YouTube business. TikTok, YouTube lag on UK child safety as rivals act, regulator says
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors worry that Google’s AI-heavy search redesign could pressure its core ad model by reducing reliance on the traditional “ten blue links” format. Google Search as you know it is over

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $388.91 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $334.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $320.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. China Renaissance raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Arete Research raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $412.65.

Alphabet Company 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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