OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Sells 384,437 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 350,139 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 384,437 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $109,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Symmetry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Members Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, White Wing Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,155 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled upcoming AI-powered bidding and budget-pacing tools for Google Ads, which could make Search and Shopping advertising more efficient and attractive for advertisers. Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets on Alphabet, including DBS Bank to $460 and other firms lifting estimates after the company’s earnings beat, reinforcing the view that results remain stronger than expected. DBS Bank Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet to 460
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s partnership with OTB Group on a generative-AI virtual try-on experience adds to the narrative that Alphabet can monetize AI across enterprise and retail use cases. Google Cloud Partners With OTB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong investor appetite for AI leaders such as Google, and recent coverage continues to frame Alphabet as one of the main beneficiaries of the AI spending cycle. Google, Broadcom Drive Delirious Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports on Google’s AI “agent” efforts and AI search features suggest Alphabet is expanding its product lead in next-generation search and automation tools. Meta, Google enter AI agent race
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also getting more time to address EU regulators’ concerns in an ongoing antitrust investigation, which removes some immediate pressure but does not eliminate the legal overhang. Google Gets More Time in EU Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a new UK lawsuit over online display ads, adding another antitrust/legal risk that could weigh on sentiment if regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Google Faces New UK Lawsuit Over Online Display Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Freedom Capital lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $425.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $407.86.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.20 and a 52 week high of $402.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $318.66 and a 200-day moving average of $311.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 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.