Marathon Asset Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Marathon Asset Management cut its Alphabet stake by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,624 shares and ending with 24,692 shares valued at about $7.75 million.
• Alphabet’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $5.11 on revenue of $109.9 billion, while Google Cloud was highlighted as a major growth driver with revenue up 63% and backlog rising sharply.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on GOOG, with multiple firms raising targets and the consensus rating sitting at Buy; the stock also moved down 2.5% on Friday despite the upbeat outlook.

Marathon Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,692 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 31,624 shares during the period. Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its stake in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% 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 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $372.65.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $376.43 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.30.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Alphabet Profile

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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