Sepio Capital LP Sells 4,662 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Sepio Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,004 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,662 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.1% of Sepio Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after buying an additional 1,073,151 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $18,093,665,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. 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. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $356.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $356.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $329.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet shareholders approved an expansion of the company’s stock plan and re-elected the board, a routine but shareholder-friendly governance update that signals continuity and support for management. Alphabet Shareholders Approve Stock Plan Expansion, Reelect Board
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, launched a $29.99 monthly “Premier” subscription and added perks like cash back and free cancellations, suggesting Alphabet is still pushing to monetize robotaxi demand in high-usage markets. Waymo launches premier subscription tier
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding its AI footprint through new Google chip plans and continued infrastructure support for Anthropic, reinforcing the view that Google Cloud and its AI ecosystem could benefit from long-term demand. Google in talks with Samsung to make next-generation chips
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted bullish analyst and investor sentiment, including higher earnings estimates and Alphabet’s continued status as a favored large-cap AI name. Analyst estimate updates and AI-stock commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Google said it identified an active cyber extortion campaign targeting Oracle PeopleSoft users via a ShinyHunters exploit; the issue appears to be a threat-intelligence update rather than a direct breach of Alphabet systems. Google says ShinyHunters hackers targeting education sector via Oracle exploit
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini and AI Overview products drew more scrutiny, including reports of search/AI controversy and temporary Workspace AI errors, which may keep debate alive around product quality and AI monetization. Google Stock Drops as AI Overview Faces Fresh Controversy
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on heavy capex and how quickly Alphabet can turn AI spending into durable revenue, especially as some commentary questioned search monetization and data-center economics. Alphabet Stock Opinions on Capital Raise and AI Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied a new trial in the youth social media addiction case involving YouTube, leaving Alphabet exposed to ongoing legal and reputational risk. Meta and Google denied new trial after landmark verdict

About Alphabet

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.