Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $24.69 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd cut its Alphabet stake by 31% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,354 shares and leaving it with 78,669 shares valued at about $24.69 million.
• Alphabet is still drawing strong Wall Street and institutional interest, with hedge funds owning 40.03% of the stock and analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $412.65.
• The company continues to show strong fundamentals and AI momentum, topping earnings expectations in its latest quarter and benefiting from new AI ad products and optimism around its long-term AI and cloud strategy, though regulatory risks remain from EU antitrust scrutiny and a search monopoly appeal.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,669 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 35,354 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.4% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 20,460 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 615,224 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $192,565,000 after acquiring an additional 11,440 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management lifted its stake in Alphabet by 119.2% in the fourth quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 14,715 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,606,000 after buying an additional 8,003 shares during the period. Finally, Ponta Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,171,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted as a strong AI investment thanks to its vertically integrated AI stack and cloud growth, which some analysts say could help it compete effectively in the booming AI data center market.
• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out new AI-powered ad products at Marketing Live, including Gemini-based ad formats and AI search checkout tools, which could expand ad monetization and strengthen its core advertising business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet may invest up to $190 billion by 2026 underscore its aggressive push into AI and infrastructure, signaling continued long-term spending to defend and grow its leadership position.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Alphabet has the tools to win the AI race and remains a top-ranked growth stock may be reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s earnings and strategic outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit faced service interruptions in some cities due to flooded roads and construction zones, a reminder that the autonomous driving business still has operational hurdles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Google’s AI security challenges and its smart-glasses partnerships adds to the long-term innovation story, but these developments are not likely to move the stock immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union is reportedly preparing to fine Google a high triple-digit million-euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation, increasing regulatory risk for Alphabet’s core business and pressuring sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also appealing a court ruling tied to its search monopoly, keeping antitrust uncertainty alive for investors focused on the durability of its search dominance.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $412.65.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $382.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $339.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

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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