Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Smithbridge Asset Management cut its Alphabet stake by 16.1% in the first quarter, selling 7,395 shares and ending with 38,497 shares valued at about $11.1 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 topping estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion exceeding expectations.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.92.

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,497 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,395 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.6% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $277,696,000 after purchasing an additional 93,293 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 274,761 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $86,000,000 after purchasing an additional 23,107 shares during the period. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $28,902,000. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $4,338,397,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.5%

GOOGL stock opened at $357.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $372.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $336.44. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.48 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase 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 was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOGL. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Phillip Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.92.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its price target on Alphabet to $445 from $425 and kept an overweight rating, reinforcing the view that the stock still has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple upbeat articles highlighted Alphabet as a leading AI and cloud beneficiary, with commentary pointing to strong distribution through Search, Android, YouTube, Google Cloud, and chips as reasons it could monetize AI better than peers.
• Positive Sentiment: New coverage argued Alphabet looks undervalued after a big run over the past year, while other pieces said the company remains one of the most attractive megacap tech names on a risk/reward basis.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other market commentators continued to include GOOGL among cloud and internet stocks positioned to benefit from AI-driven data center spending and digital demand growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Business and tech commentary also pointed to product and platform strengths, including Google Search setting records during the World Cup and Waymo planning more driverless-car expansion, which support the long-term growth narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet said it will begin disclosing which ads are generated with AI, a transparency move that may help trust and compliance but is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Britain moved to regulate Google as a critical cloud supplier to protect financial stability; the change adds oversight, but it also underscores the importance of Google Cloud rather than signaling a fundamental business setback.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters reported that Google is appealing an Indian ads-related trademark ruling, a legal issue that could create some noise but does not yet appear to be a major stock-moving event.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data was effectively flat at zero shares reported, offering little actionable signal for traders.
• Negative Sentiment: One Reuters-linked report said Google and OpenAI provided AI services to Singapore-based subsidiaries of Chinese groups on the Pentagon blacklist, which could raise regulatory scrutiny and geopolitical concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical commentary noted Alphabet is testing a key resistance zone after a recovery, suggesting the stock may need a fresh catalyst to extend its move higher.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Alphabet

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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