Lincluden Management Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Lincluden Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,483 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 12,348 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.1% of Lincluden Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Lincluden Management Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Symmetry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Members Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, White Wing Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,155 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $403.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $329.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $317.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Alphabet from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance lifted their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.84.

Key Headlines 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.