Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its Alphabet stake by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, making GOOGL its 7th largest holding. The firm now owns 2,704,990 shares valued at about $846.7 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 versus expectations of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion versus estimates of $106.98 billion. Analysts still expect the company to post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, although the yield remains modest at about 0.2%. The stock was also down 3.9% in Wednesday trading, while analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,704,990 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 204,162 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.5% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Alphabet were worth $846,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion investment signals strong outside confidence in Alphabet’s AI and cloud strategy. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion for AI goals, Berkshire to invest $10 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to argue that Alphabet remains a high-margin cash generator with attractive long-term earnings power. Google: AI Skeptics Proven Wrong as Business Booms
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Alphabet’s expanding AI coding, hardware, and device strategy highlights broader growth opportunities, but it is not the main driver of today’s move. Microsoft and Google are late to AI coding, but 'absolutely critical' they compete for growth
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed $80 billion stock sale raises dilution concerns and underscores how expensive Alphabet’s AI race has become. Exclusive: EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders, draft document shows
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that EU cloud rules could restrict Google’s access to strategic government tenders add a regulatory overhang for the cloud business. Alphabet to raise $80 billion in equity capital for AI spending

Alphabet Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $361.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.00 and a 1-year high of $408.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $347.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.75.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $393.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.04.

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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