Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Lessened by Academy Capital Management

Academy Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 207,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,020 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 8.7% of Academy Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Academy Capital Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $65,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Selected Advisers raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 710,963 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $223,102,000 after acquiring an additional 64,912 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 135,778 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,607,000 after purchasing an additional 49,182 shares during the period. Whelan Financial increased its stake in Alphabet by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 12,899 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. Finally, Madrid Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $382,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said it likely stopped a hacker group from using AI to plan a large-scale cyberattack, underscoring the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities and reducing the risk of a major breach. Reuters: Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remained upbeat on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and Gemini momentum, with some coverage arguing the company could challenge Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. MSN: Alphabet could overtake Nvidia as world’s largest company
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance is expanding in Europe, adding another AI-focused product initiative, but this is more of a long-term growth story than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. PYMNTS: Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $362.73.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $386.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.58 and a 1 year high of $398.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,818,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.