Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Arizona State Retirement System's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System cut its Alphabet stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter but still holds 1.65 million shares worth about $515.4 million, making GOOGL its 5th largest position.
• Alphabet continues to draw strong institutional and Wall Street support, with hedge funds like Berkshire Hathaway and Capital World Investors adding positions and analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus with a price target of $407.86.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly results and increased its dividend to $0.22 per share, while recent news highlights ongoing AI momentum, including expanded cybersecurity capabilities and a Google Finance rollout in Europe.

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,646,513 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 53,127 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.8% of Arizona State Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Alphabet were worth $515,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $4,338,397,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 15.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,333,076,000 after buying an additional 6,874,381 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP grew its stake in Alphabet by 23,402.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 6,118,547 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,487,419,000 after buying an additional 6,092,513 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 259.1% during the third quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 7,221,115 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,755,453,000 after buying an additional 5,210,434 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $407.86.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, 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 transaction of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet briefly surpassed NVIDIA in market value, highlighting renewed investor confidence in its AI strategy and earnings strength. Alphabet Is on the Brink of Beating NVIDIA in Market Value: ETFs to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Google said it likely thwarted an AI-generated zero-day exploit, underscoring the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities and AI threat-detection tools. Google says it likely thwarted effort by hacker group to use AI for 'mass exploitation event'
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding Google Finance into Europe as part of its AI-focused product rollout, supporting the case for continued AI-driven innovation across its ecosystem. Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is planning its first yen-denominated bond offering to help fund rising AI infrastructure spending, adding to its recent debt raises in other currencies. Alphabet considers first yen bond sale to fund AI goals
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that short interest increased were based on zero shares reported, so they do not appear to provide meaningful directional signal for GOOGL.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Commerce Department removed details from a public page about AI security testing involving Google, Microsoft, and xAI, which could raise mild regulatory transparency questions. Microsoft, Google, xAI security test details deleted from US government website

Alphabet Trading Down 3.0%

GOOGL opened at $388.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $322.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.16 and a 12-month high of $402.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. 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. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Alphabet Company Profile

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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