Peregrine Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 462,689 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 31,840 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 4.4% of Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $144,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $318.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.20 and a 52 week high of $402.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. 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:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $397.00 to $361.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group set a $410.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $407.86.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

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

About Alphabet

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.