Shelter Rock Management LLC Takes $7.97 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Shelter Rock Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25,457 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,967,000. Alphabet accounts for 8.0% of Shelter Rock Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its stake in Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

More Alphabet News

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’

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $368.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $4.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $352.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $327.81.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price target (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $445.00 price target (up from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.

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.