Advisors Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management increased its Alphabet stake by 2.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 363,754 shares valued at approximately $130 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 40% of Alphabet.
• Wall Street remains bullish, with an overall “Buy” consensus and an average price target of $420.19. Recent targets range from $410 to $465, supported by Alphabet’s quarterly earnings and revenue exceeding analyst expectations.
• Alphabet opened at $342.48 and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share. Positive developments include continued AI product expansion and avoidance of a forced ad-tech breakup, though antitrust, legal and execution risks remain.

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 363,754 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,920 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.4% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $129,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $45,625,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,676 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Alphabet by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Freedom Capital raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $420.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $342.48 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $349.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.11 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected the U.S. government’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange and other ad-tech assets. Although Alphabet must change certain business practices, avoiding a breakup preserves the company’s advertising infrastructure and revenue potential. Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway increased its Alphabet stake, with CEO Greg Abel describing Google as a significant AI player. The investment is a high-profile endorsement of Alphabet’s long-term competitive position in AI. Berkshire CEO Abel says Alphabet a significant player in AI
• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced conversational AI voice features for Gmail, Docs and Keep, expanding Gemini’s integration into widely used Workspace products. A new weather-forecasting model and planned AI image tools also highlight continued product development and potential monetization opportunities. Google launches AI voice features in Gmail, Docs and Keep
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its buy rating and set a $410 price target. Alphabet will also pay a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share to eligible shareholders, adding to its shareholder-return appeal. Google to pay dividends this month
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to purchase approximately 396 megawatts of geothermal power from Fervo Energy for a Utah data center, with an expansion option. The deal supports reliable power for AI infrastructure but also underscores the scale and cost of Alphabet’s data-center buildout.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh antitrust-related behavioral remedies, a securities-fraud investigation, insider selling reports and concerns that the promised Gemini 3.5 Pro flagship model remains delayed. These issues could limit sentiment despite the favorable breakup ruling. Securities fraud investigation into Alphabet

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,801.45. This represents a 0.43% 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, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 over the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source