Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Rathbones Group PLC's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its Alphabet stake by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, but the position remains significant at 1.71 million shares worth about $537.4 million. Alphabet is still Rathbones’ 8th-largest holding and makes up 2.1% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $5.11 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion topping forecasts. Revenue rose 21.8% year over year, helped by strong performance across the business.
• Sentiment remains broadly positive: Google Cloud posted standout growth and Alphabet raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share. However, the stock also faces some risks from an Indian court ruling on keyword ads and a reputational issue tied to a Google engineer’s insider-trading case.

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,712,515 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 195,042 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.1% of Rathbones Group PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $537,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $678,198,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $869,781,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $455,745,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction 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 represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $376.43 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $343.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.30. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost 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 6.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.65.

About Alphabet

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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