Caldwell Trust Co Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Caldwell Trust Co lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 123,338 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,536 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 3.4% of Caldwell Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Caldwell Trust Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $38,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,333,076,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,984,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. President Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Arete Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $410.84.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $329.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.61. The company has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $403.70. 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 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. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

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

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.