China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 73,966 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,168 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.8% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after buying an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,749,864,000 after buying an additional 2,209,203 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings 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 valued at $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,971,769,000 after buying an additional 539,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,531,348 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,243,960,000 after acquiring an additional 756,602 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.73.
Alphabet Stock Performance
NASDAQ GOOG opened at $379.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $312.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.49 and a 12-month high of $384.18.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 12.78 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.41%.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 191,053 shares of company stock valued at $58,845,206 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Key Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and Cloud strength — Alphabet reported far‑above‑consensus EPS and revenue and disclosed a Google Cloud backlog near ~$468B, driving optimistic analyst revisions and momentum after the quarter. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades & higher price targets — Several firms raised targets and reiterated buy/outperform views (examples include JPMorgan, 24/7 Wall St. models projecting material upside, and a Citizens upgrade). These lifts support medium‑term upside expectations. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Large buyer activity — Mirae Asset reported a sizable addition to its GOOGL stake in recent 13F filings, signaling institutional demand. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Strategic/geo-political relevance — Coverage notes Washington is increasingly focused on Google for national AI compute capacity, which could translate to long‑term government/business opportunities but also regulatory/oversight scrutiny. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Waymo & mobility investments — Continued large funding and VC interest in Waymo highlight growth optionality beyond ads, but returns are long‑dated. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: AI ecosystem lift for semis and payments — Alphabet’s $190B AI buildout and agentic‑commerce themes boost broader AI infrastructure demand (beneficial for Google, but also benefits peers). Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Institutional trimming & profit‑taking — Some funds cut GOOG/GOOGL positions (State of Michigan reduced GOOGL; Manning & Napier and Yacktman trimmed stakes), consistent with profit‑taking after a big run. That pressure can cap near‑term gains. Read More. Read More.Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Rising capex guidance — Alphabet warned of a significant increase in 2027 capital spending tied to AI infrastructure, which can compress near‑term free cash flow and prompt some investors to take profits. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — A director sale was reported (small amount), a reminder some insiders are trimming exposure; typically immaterial alone but contributes to the day’s negative tape. Read More.
Alphabet Profile
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.
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