Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Bought by Encompass More Asset Management

Key Points

• Encompass More Asset Management increased its Alphabet stake by 119.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,003 additional shares and bringing its total to 14,715 shares worth about $4.6 million.
• Alphabet continues to draw attention for its AI growth strategy, including new AI-powered ad products and commentary that its cloud and vertically integrated AI stack could help it compete in the expanding AI market.
• The stock faces some regulatory pressure, with reports of a possible major EU antitrust fine and ongoing appeals tied to Google’s search monopoly, even as analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

Encompass More Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 119.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,715 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,003 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.8% of Encompass More Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Encompass More Asset Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,476,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Wing Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,155 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted as a strong AI investment thanks to its vertically integrated AI stack and cloud growth, which some analysts say could help it compete effectively in the booming AI data center market.
• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out new AI-powered ad products at Marketing Live, including Gemini-based ad formats and AI search checkout tools, which could expand ad monetization and strengthen its core advertising business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet may invest up to $190 billion by 2026 underscore its aggressive push into AI and infrastructure, signaling continued long-term spending to defend and grow its leadership position.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Alphabet has the tools to win the AI race and remains a top-ranked growth stock may be reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s earnings and strategic outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit faced service interruptions in some cities due to flooded roads and construction zones, a reminder that the autonomous driving business still has operational hurdles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Google’s AI security challenges and its smart-glasses partnerships adds to the long-term innovation story, but these developments are not likely to move the stock immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union is reportedly preparing to fine Google a high triple-digit million-euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation, increasing regulatory risk for Alphabet’s core business and pressuring sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also appealing a court ruling tied to its search monopoly, keeping antitrust uncertainty alive for investors focused on the durability of its search dominance.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. President Capital lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $412.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $382.97 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $339.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $322.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $4.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $109.90 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a 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 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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