Midwest Trust Co Sells 13,588 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Midwest Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 723,179 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 13,588 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.8% of Midwest Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $226,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud announced a partnership with Swedish private equity firm EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing Google Cloud’s enterprise AI momentum. Reuters: Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, began opening its new Ojai robotaxi to select riders; the vehicle is designed to be cheaper to manufacture and lower fleet-expansion costs, which could improve the long-term economics of the business. CNBC: Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly reiterated a bullish view on Alphabet Class A shares, adding to the case that investors still see upside in the company’s core businesses and AI initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is testing Gemini-powered Search ad formats, including conversational discovery and highlighted answers, which could eventually boost monetization but is still in the early rollout phase. Yahoo Finance: GOOGL’s Innovative Ad Format to Boost Search Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Alphabet’s stock valuation and technical setup, including commentary suggesting support near current levels and possible upside toward $400, but these are market opinions rather than new fundamentals. Finbold: Google stock is guaranteed to hit $400…
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Justice Department charged a Google software engineer with insider trading tied to Polymarket bets, which adds reputational noise and could keep scrutiny on Alphabet’s internal controls and compliance culture. Reuters: US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor commentary, including DuckDuckGo’s criticism of Google’s AI search overhaul and claims that some users are switching away, highlights ongoing competitive and antitrust pressure on Alphabet’s Search franchise. Yahoo Finance: ‘It’s Time To Fire Google,’ Urges Alphabet’s Search Engine Rival

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $412.65.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 over the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $390.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $344.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $324.52. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.00 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Alphabet Company 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.