Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Troy Asset Management Ltd’s 2nd Largest Position

Troy Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,879,693 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 636,651 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 14.7% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $588,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Symmetry Partners LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Members Trust Co grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,489,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,274,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $368.53 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $352.70 and a 200 day moving average of $328.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped 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. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock’s 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK ‘conduct requirement’

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.