QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 881,794 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,211 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 3.1% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $276,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $4,338,397,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Alphabet by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Alphabet by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,333,076,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874,381 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP boosted its position in Alphabet by 23,402.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 6,118,547 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,487,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092,513 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Q1 results were highlighted as one of the strongest among the Mag 7, with Google Cloud showing accelerating sales growth and broader AI momentum helping investor sentiment. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
- Positive Sentiment: Google’s I/O announcements continued to reinforce Alphabet’s AI story, including new AI search experiences, agent tools, and upcoming AI glasses that suggest the company is expanding beyond traditional search. We tried Google’s AI glasses and they’re almost there
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with multiple firms reiterating positive views and new AI ad formats seen as potentially boosting conversions and monetization in Search and Commerce. Alphabet’s new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
- Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled a $15 billion Missouri data center investment, underscoring continued capital spending to support AI infrastructure and cloud demand. Google Unveils $15 Billion Missouri Data Center Investment
- Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discussed Google’s revamped AI-driven search experience and agent ecosystem, which are strategically important but still too early to measure their near-term financial impact. Google is pitching an AI agent ecosystem to consumers who may not buy it
- Negative Sentiment: Waymo temporarily suspended service in multiple cities after robotaxis drove into flooded roads, adding another safety and execution concern for Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle unit. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
- Negative Sentiment: Google’s appeal of the antitrust ruling remains the biggest overhang, since a loss or forced remedies could eventually weigh on the company’s core search and advertising economics. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly
Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.
Insider Activity
In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $412.65.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Alphabet
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.
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