Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Purchased by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd increased its Alphabet stake by 2.2% in the first quarter, adding 19,853 shares and bringing its total holding to 928,627 shares worth about $267 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.11 per share versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts still project full-year EPS of 14.32.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on GOOGL, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $413.54.

USS Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 928,627 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,853 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.1% of USS Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $266,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $361.92 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.93. 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 capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.24. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.77 and a 52-week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo plans to expand driverless rides to four more major cities this year, with a phased rollout that could broaden Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle opportunity and reinforce its leadership in robotaxis. Waymo Plans to Expand Driverless Cars to 4 More Major Cities This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to be highlighted as a beneficiary of massive AI infrastructure spending, with analysts pointing to strong demand for cloud expansion, data centers, and AI hardware. 3 Top-Ranked Stocks Riding on Massive AI Infrastructure Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was cited as an indirect way to gain exposure to Anthropic ahead of a possible IPO, since the company already holds a major private stake in the AI startup. Want Anthropic Exposure Before the IPO? These 2 AI Giants Are Already There (GOOGL)
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly added a $10 billion private placement investment in Alphabet, a sign of institutional confidence that could support sentiment in the stock. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Successor, Greg Abel, Just Bought More of This Magnificent Tech Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Cognizant deepened its Google Cloud partnership to accelerate enterprise AI adoption, which underscores Alphabet’s cloud relevance but is not a direct financial catalyst by itself. Cognizant Strengthens AI Portfolio Through Google Cloud Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s upcoming Pixel launch event on August 12 keeps hardware in view, but this is more of a product-calendar reminder than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. Google's Pixel event is set for August 12
• Negative Sentiment: Google updated the Chrome Web Store to ban prediction market transactions, a policy move that may be seen as restrictive and could attract backlash from affected users and developers. Google Bans Prediction Market Transactions Amid Backlash
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted Alphabet shares were already slipping versus the broader market, adding to the intraday weakness as traders weigh valuation and AI competition concerns. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price target 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. President Capital increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.54.

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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