Vest Financial LLC Sells 11,020 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC trimmed its Alphabet stake by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,020 shares and leaving it with 314,509 shares valued at about $98.4 million.
• Alphabet continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support, with major investors adding shares and several firms raising price targets; the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $410.84 target.
• The company posted a strong quarter with EPS of $5.11 on revenue of $109.9 billion, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share while AI-related catalysts and product momentum remain key themes.

Vest Financial LLC decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 314,509 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,020 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.2% of Vest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $98,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Alphabet by 15.7% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $396.78 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $329.30 and its 200-day moving average is $317.27. The company has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $403.70.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price objective (up from $360.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research increased their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $410.84.

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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