Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 54,118 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 82.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,238 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 54,118 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.2% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,361,412 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,267,160,000 after buying an additional 442,581 shares during the period. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 126.7% during the fourth quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,062 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,471,000 after buying an additional 6,183 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 818,555 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $256,863,000 after buying an additional 45,767 shares during the period. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 35,468 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,130,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.40.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $393.32 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $399.93. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $327.44 and a 200-day moving average of $316.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

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

Alphabet 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.