Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 534,777 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,669,059 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 534,777 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 6.4% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,151,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,886,000 after acquiring an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Roundup

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.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $362.29 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $353.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.39. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. 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 fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Alphabet 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.