Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. cut its Alphabet stake by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,116 shares and leaving it with 55,294 shares valued at about $17.3 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s fourth-largest holding, representing roughly 3.0% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet is seeing mixed investor sentiment: analysts remain broadly bullish on the stock, but some market watchers worry that rising AI spending could pressure margins in the near term. Recent reports also highlight Alphabet’s long-term AI potential and the strategic value of Waymo.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, with earnings and revenue both beating expectations, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share. Several analysts have kept or raised price targets, and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,294 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,116 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 3.0% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Insight 2811 Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s long-term AI opportunity remains a major bullish theme, with analysts arguing the company’s heavy investment could support future revenue growth and strengthen its competitive position in search, cloud, and AI. Alphabet: CapEx Pressure Is Real, But The Long-Term AI Opportunity Is Bigger
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to benefit from broader AI enthusiasm, including reports that Apple is turning to Google for help with its AI overhaul and that Google’s cloud and AI capabilities are being tied to major customer wins and partnerships. Apple tries again on AI, turns to Google for help
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo remains a strategic asset for Alphabet, with new robotaxi-related developments highlighting the unit’s leadership in autonomous driving and potential to unlock long-term value. Uber, Wayve and Waymo are headed towards a robotaxi showdown in London
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is drawing investor attention after its latest earnings results showed strong quarterly performance, including earnings and revenue that beat expectations, which helps support the stock’s long-term valuation. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s dividend and other capital-return details are also getting attention, but these are unlikely to be the main driver of the stock’s move today. Google to pay dividends next week; Here's how much 100 GOOGL shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are sliding because investors appear worried that Alphabet’s expanding AI spending could pressure margins and require more capital than expected before those investments pay off. What's Going On With Alphabet Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market-wide volatility has also weighed on megacap tech stocks, adding to the weakness in Alphabet despite the company’s long-term AI story. Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $445.00 target price (up from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $435.00 price objective (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $363.31 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.00 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $354.35 and its 200-day moving average is $328.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 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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