Sageworth Trust Co Lowers Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Sageworth Trust Co cut its Alphabet stake by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,562 shares and leaving it with 11,378 shares worth about $3.57 million.
• Despite that sale, Alphabet continues to draw strong institutional interest, with major holders like Vanguard and JPMorgan increasing positions and hedge funds owning 27.26% of the stock.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 and revenue of $109.9 billion, both ahead of estimates, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Sageworth Trust Co cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,378 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,562 shares during the quarter. Sageworth Trust Co's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after buying an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $678,198,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $869,781,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $455,745,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and other analysts are expecting major Gemini AI announcements at Google I/O, which could reinforce Alphabet’s leadership in AI and support the stock. BofA Sends Blunt Message for Alphabet Investors Ahead of Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Alphabet, and Erste Group also lifted earnings estimates, signaling stronger profit expectations ahead of Google I/O. Alphabet had its price target raised by Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Several investors and funds, including Goldman Sachs and Egerton Capital, disclosed larger Alphabet stakes, suggesting continued institutional confidence. Fund Update: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Google’s Gemini Flash model is quietly gaining AI customers and that Alphabet is expanding AI infrastructure point to improving enterprise demand for its AI products. Google has been quietly gaining AI customers, even before big releases next week
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record 576.5 billion yen bond offering to fund AI capex, showing it still has strong access to capital for its infrastructure buildout. Alphabet completes record-breaking yen bond issuance
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Google is in talks with SpaceX to launch data centers into space is intriguing, but it is still early-stage and speculative. Google in Talks with SpaceX to Launch Data Centers into Space
• Neutral Sentiment: Isomorphic Labs raised $2.1 billion to use AI for drug discovery, which highlights Alphabet’s broader AI ecosystem, but the direct stock impact is limited for now. Isomorphic Labs Raises $2.1 Billion to End Disease With AI
• Negative Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square sharply cut its GOOG and GOOGL positions, adding to concern that some large investors may be taking profits after the run-up. Fund Update: Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary says Alphabet’s heavy AI and cloud spending is pressuring free cash flow, raising questions about near-term margins and valuation. 6.7% AA2 Bond Yield From Alphabet, But There Is a Catch

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. The trade was a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $363.40.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $393.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $399.93. The firm's fifty day moving average is $327.44 and its 200 day moving average is $316.98. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

About Alphabet

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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