Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Boosted by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 852,559 shares worth about $266.9 million. Alphabet is now the fund’s sixth-largest holding and makes up roughly 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Several Wall Street analysts raised their outlooks on GOOGL, with new or higher price targets from BNP Paribas Exane, BMO Capital Markets, Barclays, and Moffett Nathanson. The stock currently carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $407.86.
• Alphabet recently delivered a strong earnings beat, reporting $5.11 EPS versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.90 billion versus $106.98 billion estimated. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 852,559 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,050 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.5% of Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $266,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Alphabet from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial raised Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price objective (up from $360.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $407.86.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being viewed as a major AI winner, with multiple reports highlighting strong demand for its infrastructure, cloud, and Gemini AI efforts as hyperscalers pour capital into AI. Hyperscalers Now Competing With US Treasury for Capital, Driving Up Government Borrowing Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s stock has been re-rated higher by the market, with analysts and commentators pointing to a stronger valuation profile and improved confidence in its earnings power. Why The Market Is Re-Rating Google Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Pay partnership with Affirm could broaden monetization and make Google’s payments ecosystem more attractive to consumers and merchants. Affirm's Google Deal Aims for Your Wallet (GOOGL)
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Alphabet is gaining momentum in government AI contracts, which could open a new high-value revenue stream and help diversify away from ads. Why Palantir Suddenly Looks Vulnerable After Google’s Move

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $401.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $403.70. The company's fifty day moving average is $327.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $316.71. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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.

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