AMG Asset Management Group Inc. Takes $895,000 Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• AMG Asset Management Group opened a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter, buying 2,861 shares valued at about $895,000. Alphabet now ranks as the firm’s 10th-largest holding and makes up about 2.9% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.64 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion versus the expected $106.98 billion. The company also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, up from $0.21.
• Despite strong fundamentals and bullish analyst coverage, Alphabet stock was down about 5% amid concerns about AI talent departures and execution risks in areas like Waymo. Analysts still broadly rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $413.13.

AMG Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,861 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $895,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.9% of AMG Asset Management Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $45,625,595,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,676 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Alphabet by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604 over the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $349.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $408.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $367.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $332.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and DeepMind announced a new AI research partnership with film studio A24, including about $75 million of investment, showing continued efforts to commercialize AI in creative tools. Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI spending, arguing that its cloud growth and AI investments could still be monetized over time. Morgan Stanley sees monetization potential in Google AI spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s cloud business continues to grow quickly and remains a key long-term driver, but heavy AI spending is also increasing near-term cost concerns. Is Alphabet the Best "Magnificent Seven" AI Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet stock is falling more than the broader market as investors worry about a high-profile AI talent exodus from Google DeepMind and Gemini leadership. Alphabet paces for worst day in a year on AI concerns after high-profile exits
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Google DeepMind scientist John Jumper left for Anthropic added to fears that Alphabet is losing key AI researchers to competitors. Alphabet Is Now Cheaper Than What Berkshire Paid
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo’s recall of 3,871 robotaxis after a software glitch is another reminder that Alphabet’s autonomy business still faces execution risk. Waymo Just Recalled 3,800 Robotaxis. Is Google's Self-Driving Dream Hitting a Wall?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $435.00 target price (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $393.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet 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.

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.