Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Boosted by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.6% in Q4 to 810,256 shares (worth about $253.61 million), making Alphabet its third-largest position at roughly 4.1% of the fund.
• Alphabet topped quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.82 (vs. $2.57) and revenue of $113.83 billion; the company has a market cap of about $3.63 trillion, a P/E near 27.8, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.21 (~0.3% yield).
• Insider selling was notable: CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares (~$10.0M) and insiders disposed of 2,101,844 shares (~$115.15M) in the last quarter, although insiders still own about 11.64% of the company.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 810,256 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,909 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 4.1% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Alphabet were worth $253,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,944,208,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Alphabet by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Alphabet by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after buying an additional 6,874,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,744,000 after buying an additional 1,034,292 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $299.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $349.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $397.00 to $361.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.33.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term Broadcom deal to build and supply custom AI chips through 2031 secures a multi-year supply path for Google's next‑generation AI racks, lowering hardware risk for Google Cloud/AI scaling and supporting product rollout plans. Broadcom signs long-term deal to develop Google's custom AI chips
• Positive Sentiment: A Wall Street analyst reaffirmed a constructive outlook on Alphabet, helping investor sentiment despite unit‑level challenges (notably in autonomous driving), which supports near‑term buying interest. Wall Street analyst updates Google stock price target
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet stands to realize a sizeable paper gain from its early SpaceX stake if the IPO proceeds at reported valuations, an upside that can underpin long‑term investor thesis. 2 Stocks About To Make a Killing on the SpaceX IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Broadcom's expanded arrangement also includes providing computing capacity to Anthropic using Google's AI processors — this could generate cloud‑revenue or cost recovery opportunities but also helps a competing AI vendor scale. Broadcom agrees to expanded chip deals with Google, Anthropic
• Neutral Sentiment: Intel's push into advanced chip packaging and talks with cloud providers could reshape the supply chain and introduce new competition/partners for AI infrastructure; this is a sector development to monitor. Intel Targets Amazon, Google on AI Chip Packaging
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/opinion pieces highlighting Alphabet's ~27x P/E and earnings outlook provide supportive narrative for value‑oriented investors but are commentary rather than new fundamentals. Alphabet: Why Strong Money Likes It At 27x P/E
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target on Alphabet, signaling some analyst caution that can weigh on sentiment even if the new target remains above current levels. Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Alphabet Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by Alphabet's CAO was reported, a small but negative signal investors watch for timing and magnitude. Insider Selling: Alphabet CAO Sells Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder pressure and community opposition over water and power use have already led to abandoned data‑center projects; environmental and permitting risks could raise costs or delay capacity expansion. Investors press Amazon, Microsoft and Google on water, power use

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,101,844 shares of company stock worth $115,147,751 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.