Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Suncoast Equity Management’s 4th Largest Position

Suncoast Equity Management cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 178,022 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 52,846 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 5.6% of Suncoast Equity Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $55,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,060,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Steginsky Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Steginsky Capital LLC now owns 680,588 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,757,000 after acquiring an additional 6,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 157,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,333,000 after acquiring an additional 18,881 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Gemini usage growth and strong Google Cloud momentum suggest Alphabet’s AI strategy is gaining traction and could support future revenue growth.
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $475 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence in Alphabet’s upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to view Alphabet as a long-term compounder with durable Search cash flow plus cloud and AI expansion. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s new capital-raising and AI infrastructure spending plans could help fund growth, but they also create uncertainty about near-term cash flow and dilution.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet is paying SpaceX about $920 million per month for AI compute add to concerns that the company is leaning on outside infrastructure to meet AI demand, increasing costs in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary suggests investors are worried that elevated AI capex could pressure margins if the payoff from AI products takes longer than expected.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 worth $17,282,549 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $362.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $353.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.39. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.71%.

Alphabet Company 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.