Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s 3rd Largest Position

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 179,708 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,419 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.9% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $64,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $277,696,000 after purchasing an additional 93,293 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 2.6% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,902,000. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lifted its stake in Alphabet by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 118,966 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,236,000 after purchasing an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 66.1% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 22,877 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,161,000 after buying an additional 9,105 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $379.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Arete Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $420.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $338.46 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 4.42%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded its partnership with Cathay Pacific to test AI designed to reduce aircraft contrail warming. Early real-world testing reportedly cut contrail-related warming by 40%, highlighting potential environmental applications for Google’s AI technology. Cathay Pacific, Google expand AI trials to cut climate-warming aircraft contrails
• Positive Sentiment: Pixxel, an Indian satellite startup backed by Google, raised $100 million in new funding. The deal strengthens Alphabet’s exposure to Earth observation, space software and sovereign space systems, although the financial effect on Alphabet itself is likely limited. Google-backed Indian space startup raises $100 million in latest funding round
• Positive Sentiment: Several investment articles argue Alphabet is underappreciated within the “Magnificent Seven,” citing its search and cloud cash flows, AI opportunities and a valuation viewed as reasonable relative to growth. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued Alphabet purchases also provide a prominent vote of confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Warren Buffett reportedly initiated Berkshire’s Alphabet investment, while Greg Abel is expected to maintain significant influence over the portfolio. The development is sentiment-positive but does not change Alphabet’s operating outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s partnerships with AI companies, including CrowdStrike, reinforce its role in enterprise AI and cybersecurity, but the commercial impact remains uncertain. CrowdStrike unveiled a broad AI security platform push
• Negative Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s fund fully exited Alphabet in the second quarter and bought Netflix instead, citing concern that aggressive AI infrastructure spending could pressure profitability and increase volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary warns that rising AI capital expenditures are reducing returns on capital and could challenge Alphabet’s traditionally strong financial profile.
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced a securities-fraud investigation seeking Alphabet investors, but the announcement provides no finding of wrongdoing and appears primarily to solicit shareholders.

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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