World Investment Advisors reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 270,534 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,227 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.3% of World Investment Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $77,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its price target on Alphabet to $445 from $425 and kept an overweight rating, reinforcing the view that the stock still has meaningful upside from current levels.
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple upbeat articles highlighted Alphabet as a leading AI and cloud beneficiary, with commentary pointing to strong distribution through Search, Android, YouTube, Google Cloud, and chips as reasons it could monetize AI better than peers.
- Positive Sentiment: New coverage argued Alphabet looks undervalued after a big run over the past year, while other pieces said the company remains one of the most attractive megacap tech names on a risk/reward basis.
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other market commentators continued to include GOOGL among cloud and internet stocks positioned to benefit from AI-driven data center spending and digital demand growth.
- Positive Sentiment: Business and tech commentary also pointed to product and platform strengths, including Google Search setting records during the World Cup and Waymo planning more driverless-car expansion, which support the long-term growth narrative.
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet said it will begin disclosing which ads are generated with AI, a transparency move that may help trust and compliance but is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings.
- Neutral Sentiment: Britain moved to regulate Google as a critical cloud supplier to protect financial stability; the change adds oversight, but it also underscores the importance of Google Cloud rather than signaling a fundamental business setback.
- Neutral Sentiment: Reuters reported that Google is appealing an Indian ads-related trademark ruling, a legal issue that could create some noise but does not yet appear to be a major stock-moving event.
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data was effectively flat at zero shares reported, offering little actionable signal for traders.
- Negative Sentiment: One Reuters-linked report said Google and OpenAI provided AI services to Singapore-based subsidiaries of Chinese groups on the Pentagon blacklist, which could raise regulatory scrutiny and geopolitical concerns.
- Negative Sentiment: Technical commentary noted Alphabet is testing a key resistance zone after a recovery, suggesting the stock may need a fresh catalyst to extend its move higher.
Alphabet Stock Down 0.5%
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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. 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 yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.
Insider Transactions at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. CICC Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.92.
Get Our Latest Report on GOOGL
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.
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