Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Reduced by Frisch Financial Group Inc.

Frisch Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,812 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,420 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.9% of Frisch Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Frisch Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $368.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $352.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $327.81. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 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 business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock’s 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK ‘conduct requirement’

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $460.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

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.