Cadence Bank boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 152,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.8% of Cadence Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $47,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY grew its holdings in Alphabet by 17.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $85,557,000 after purchasing an additional 48,805 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank lifted its stake in Alphabet by 6.9% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,495,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.
Alphabet News Roundup
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
Alphabet Stock Performance
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.41%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.84.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on GOOGL
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This 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 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818 over the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Alphabet 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.
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