WMG Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• WMG Financial Advisors LLC reduced its Alphabet stake by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,237 shares and ending with 4,300 shares valued at about $1.35 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.11 per share versus expectations of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts now expect $14.01 EPS for the full year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, and recent news highlights continued AI expansion, though Alphabet also faces ongoing regulatory and legal scrutiny in Europe and the UK.

WMG Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,300 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,237 shares during the period. WMG Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Alphabet by 15.7% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 6,874,381 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,292 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 39,250,829 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,541,877,000 after acquiring an additional 392,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $400.69 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $318.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.20 and a 1 year high of $402.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled upcoming AI-powered bidding and budget-pacing tools for Google Ads, which could make Search and Shopping advertising more efficient and attractive for advertisers. Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets on Alphabet, including DBS Bank to $460 and other firms lifting estimates after the company’s earnings beat, reinforcing the view that results remain stronger than expected. DBS Bank Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet to 460
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s partnership with OTB Group on a generative-AI virtual try-on experience adds to the narrative that Alphabet can monetize AI across enterprise and retail use cases. Google Cloud Partners With OTB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong investor appetite for AI leaders such as Google, and recent coverage continues to frame Alphabet as one of the main beneficiaries of the AI spending cycle. Google, Broadcom Drive Delirious Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports on Google’s AI “agent” efforts and AI search features suggest Alphabet is expanding its product lead in next-generation search and automation tools. Meta, Google enter AI agent race
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also getting more time to address EU regulators’ concerns in an ongoing antitrust investigation, which removes some immediate pressure but does not eliminate the legal overhang. Google Gets More Time in EU Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a new UK lawsuit over online display ads, adding another antitrust/legal risk that could weigh on sentiment if regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Google Faces New UK Lawsuit Over Online Display Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. UBS Group set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $357.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $407.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total value of $9,859,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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