Peregrine Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Peregrine Investment Management cut its Alphabet stake by 31.6% in the first quarter, selling 7,690 shares and leaving it with 16,680 shares worth about $4.8 million.
• Alphabet beat earnings expectations last quarter, reporting $5.11 EPS versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts still largely rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $413.13.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, and shares were trading down 0.9% at $346.66 amid mixed sentiment around AI spending, search competition, and recent insider sales.

Peregrine Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 31.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,680 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,690 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 3.8% of Peregrine Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Peregrine Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,008,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,925,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,747,000. AMG Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $895,000. Finally, Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $2,205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $346.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.13 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $368.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $332.50.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet will replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average effective June 29, a notable prestige boost that could support passive fund buying and improve investor sentiment. Alphabet Set to Join and Honeywell International to Remain in Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed its Buy rating on Alphabet, reinforcing confidence in the company’s long-term outlook. Alphabet had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet remains a major AI infrastructure beneficiary, with reports noting accelerating demand at Google Cloud, quarterly cloud revenue above $20 billion, and strong enterprise AI adoption. Alphabet Rides on Accelerating AI Infrastructure Demand: What's Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Google DeepMind announced a $75 million AI research partnership with A24, signaling continued investment in AI applications outside core search and cloud. Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is still dominant in search, but new reports suggest competition from AI-powered alternatives is putting pressure on its long-term search leadership. Google's online dominance Is showing signs of cracking in AI era
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment was hurt by the departure of key AI figures, including Noam Shazeer and John Jumper, raising concerns that Alphabet is losing talent to OpenAI and Anthropic. Alphabet paces for worst day in a year on AI concerns after high-profile exits
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Google’s search dominance may be starting to crack as users test non-AI or AI-free search options, adding pressure on the company’s core revenue engine. Google Losing Ground as Consumers Seek Out Non-AI Search
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern over heavy AI capital spending and higher rates also weighed on megacap tech shares, contributing to Alphabet’s weakness. Alphabet, SpaceX, Intel, and More Stocks That Explain Today's Market

Alphabet 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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