Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,682 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,388 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.3% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,524,841,000 after buying an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Alphabet by 15.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after acquiring an additional 6,874,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Alphabet by 2.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,984,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,292 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $358.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $349.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $326.85. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.28 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly added another $10 billion to its Alphabet stake, an unusual endorsement that also drew interest from Cathie Wood’s ARK, suggesting strong institutional confidence in the company’s AI strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet expanded its multi-year Google Cloud deal with Lovable, highlighting continued demand for its cloud and AI infrastructure services.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy rating with a $450 price target, and other analysts raised revenue expectations for Google Cloud.
• Positive Sentiment: DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said AGI may be only a few years away, reinforcing the market’s view that Alphabet remains one of the central players in the AI arms race.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.04.

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.