Apella Capital LLC Has $25.09 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 33.6% in the first quarter, ending with 87,462 shares valued at about $25.09 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Alphabet, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $376.78; several firms reiterated positive ratings, though one downgraded the stock to hold.
• Alphabet’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $5.11 EPS on $109.9 billion in revenue, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Apella Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 33.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,462 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,982 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $376.78.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s advertising business is still growing, with one analyst note pointing to rising ad revenues and AI-driven ad tools as a source of further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in big tech and AI names looks more like a buying opportunity than a broken AI thesis, and included Alphabet among the core beneficiaries of the AI trend. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to get bullish long-term commentary from investors who see it as a strong growth and AI compounder, helped by Google Cloud momentum and AI monetization potential. Alphabet: Still A Top-Tier AI Compounder
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a notable index inclusion but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Alphabet Set to Join Dow Jones Industrial Average as Verizon Exits Index (GOOG)
• Neutral Sentiment: A new bill would study data-center energy and water measurement standards, which could eventually affect Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure, but it does not create immediate regulation. New Bill: Representative Suhas Subramanyam introduces H.R. 9372: Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is centered on Google’s AI talent exodus, with reports of more researchers leaving for rivals like Anthropic, raising worries about execution in Gemini and broader AI competitiveness. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Google is taking a tougher stance with publishers to secure broader content access for AI training, while publishers warn that traffic declines are already hurting them, adding to regulatory and relationship risk. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles this week continued to highlight weakness in the “all-in on AI” trade and pressure on Alphabet shares tied to AI talent losses and competitive fears. Ranking the FAANG Stocks From Most to Least Attractive, Based on Future Cash Flow

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $334.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average is $366.33 and its 200 day moving average is $331.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.71 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,523 shares of company stock worth $4,863,526. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

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