Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Holdings Increased by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its Alphabet stake by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 719,007 more shares and bringing its total holding to 3.9 million shares worth about $1.23 billion.
• Alphabet reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.68 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion, both above Wall Street expectations. Revenue rose 21.8% from a year earlier.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $372.65.

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,905,016 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 719,007 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.2% of ProShare Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,225,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the third 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,971,769,000 after purchasing an additional 539,679 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $386.12 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $341.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.94. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $404.47.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit is rolling out its new “Ojai” robotaxi to select riders in major U.S. cities, with a roomier design, lower manufacturing costs, and a removable steering wheel — all signs that the autonomous vehicle business may become more scalable and economically viable. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a Google Cloud partnership with EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing cloud and AI as key growth drivers for the company beyond advertising. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and several market notes described Alphabet as a “crucial position” and suggested investors still may be underestimating Waymo’s value, which can help sentiment but does not change fundamentals by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also interest in Alphabet’s AI-search changes and new Gemini-powered ad formats, which could improve monetization over time, but some observers say the overhaul is still controversial and early reactions are mixed. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Federal prosecutors charged a Google software engineer with using confidential information to make about $1.2 million on Polymarket bets, creating unwanted reputational risk for Alphabet and adding headlines that may pressure sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent AI Search overhaul is also drawing criticism, with some users and rival search services benefiting as concerns grow that Google’s changes could hurt traffic patterns and user satisfaction. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.65.

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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