Garde Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,944 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,647 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.0% of Garde Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1,438.5% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOG. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.00.
Alphabet News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet signed a major cloud-computing agreement with SpaceX, with reports putting the deal at about $920 million per month for 32 months, which could provide a meaningful revenue stream and reinforce demand for Google Cloud. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s municipal-bond debut drew strong investor demand, suggesting institutions still view the company as a high-quality borrower with flexible financing options. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Some investors and analysts said the equity raise is a strategic move to accelerate AI infrastructure and may help Alphabet defend and expand its long-term leadership in search, cloud, and AI. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also appeared in commentary about AI-related partnerships, including potential indirect benefits from the SpaceX IPO and other cloud collaborations, but these are mostly longer-term strategic themes rather than immediate catalysts. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Wall Street coverage focused heavily on Alphabet’s expanding capital expenditures, with some commentators warning that the AI buildout may be getting too expensive and could pressure free cash flow. Article Title
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Alphabet Trading Down 1.0%
Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $365.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $350.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $327.07. The company has a market cap of $4.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors 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 yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.
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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