Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Increased by Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd

Key Points

• Fairtree Asset Management increased its Alphabet stake by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,272 shares to bring its total to 33,317 shares worth about $10.46 million. Alphabet is now the fund’s fourth-largest holding and makes up 4.8% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong Q1 results, with EPS of $5.11 beating estimates by $2.43 and revenue of $109.9 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 21.8% year over year, highlighting continued strength in the core business.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, payable June 15. Analysts remain mostly bullish, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.65.

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,317 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,272 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 4.8% of Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 29.0% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $376.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $343.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $324.30. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase 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%.

More Alphabet News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $372.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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