Keel Point LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Keel Point LLC lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 27.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 18,110 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.9% of Keel Point LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,625,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $354.30 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $355.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.24. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.60 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $419.86.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue reportedly increased 82% in the second quarter, with backlog reaching $514 billion, while the Gemini app reached approximately 950 million monthly active users. The results reinforce the commercial demand supporting Alphabet’s AI and cloud investments. Google’s AI business is booming, so why are DeepMind’s biggest names quitting?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to highlight Alphabet’s strong cash generation, balance sheet and valuation relative to its growth prospects. Some market models see the shares reaching $400 as Cloud momentum and AI monetization continue. Price Prediction: Google Will Hit $400 on This Date
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s expanded Google Cloud partnership with AI lab Mirendil, reportedly worth more than $100 million over multiple years, provides another example of demand for its computing infrastructure. Mirendil Google Cloud deal

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.