Stevens Capital Management LP Has $3.53 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management cut its Alphabet stake by 82.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 54,118 shares and ending with 11,238 shares worth about $3.53 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.11 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year.
• Wall Street remains bullish on GOOG, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Buy with an average target price of $363.40, even as the stock traded near its 52-week high.

Stevens Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 82.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,238 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 54,118 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.2% of Stevens Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Summary

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $363.40.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $393.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.25. 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 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $399.93. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $327.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Alphabet Company Profile

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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