Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Bought by Davis Selected Advisers

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers increased its Alphabet stake by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 64,912 more shares and bringing its total holding to 710,963 shares worth about $223.1 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, topping estimates and rising 21.8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Buy rating and a $362.73 price target.

Davis Selected Advisers grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 710,963 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 64,912 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Davis Selected Advisers' investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Davis Selected Advisers' holdings in Alphabet were worth $223,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 4,068 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $386.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $320.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.53. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $157.58 and a fifty-two week high of $398.37.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,818,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $856,605,814.08. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.73.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said it likely stopped a hacker group from using AI to plan a large-scale cyberattack, underscoring the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities and reducing the risk of a major breach. Reuters: Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remained upbeat on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and Gemini momentum, with some coverage arguing the company could challenge Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. MSN: Alphabet could overtake Nvidia as world's largest company
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance is expanding in Europe, adding another AI-focused product initiative, but this is more of a long-term growth story than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. PYMNTS: Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch

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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