Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Raised by Stockbridge Partners LLC

Key Points

• Stockbridge Partners increased its Alphabet position by 28.3% in the second quarter, adding 276,356 shares to reach 1.25 million shares valued at approximately $447.7 million. Alphabet now represents 9.4% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Alphabet is expanding its AI infrastructure and enterprise reach through a Google Cloud partnership with Accenture involving 1,000 engineers, while also pursuing nuclear power support for data centers and AI applications in aviation sustainability.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with an average “Buy” rating and a $420.19 price target. Alphabet also reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 28.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,252,838 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 276,356 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 9.4% of Stockbridge Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Stockbridge Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $447,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 24.0% during the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 18,626 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,656,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $2,550,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.1% in the second quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,680,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 23,295 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,325,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,022 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,296,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud expands enterprise AI push: Alphabet and Accenture are launching a joint unit with 1,000 forward-deployed engineers to help businesses implement Google’s AI tools. The partnership could accelerate Cloud adoption, improve monetization and help Alphabet compete more effectively with Microsoft and Amazon. Google Cloud races to catch up in the AI deployment wars with Accenture deal
• Positive Sentiment: Potential power support for AI infrastructure: The U.S. government approved a $1.9 billion loan to NextEra Energy to refurbish an Iowa nuclear plant that Google plans to use for power. Reliable, low-carbon electricity could help support Alphabet’s growing data-center demand, although the benefits are longer term. Google's revived nuclear power plant gets $1.9B loan from US government
• Positive Sentiment: Google and Cathay Pacific expanded trials of AI technology designed to reduce aircraft contrail warming, adding a potential sustainability and commercial-use case for Google’s AI capabilities. Cathay Pacific, Google expand AI trials to cut climate-warming aircraft contrails

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price objective (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $420.19.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $338.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.23 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $348.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $343.37.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet's largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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