United Community Bank Sells 5,092 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

United Community Bank reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 45.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,184 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,092 shares during the period. United Community Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $416,217,000. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% in the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 21.2% in the third quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,746 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,666,577 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $405,131,000 after purchasing an additional 60,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.4% in the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 72,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $410.84.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total transaction of $9,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at $856,605,814.08. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $403.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $329.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $317.27.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Alphabet 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.