Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,826 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.7% of Argent Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Alphabet were worth $92,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $30,534,239,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in Alphabet by 855.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,546,413,000 after purchasing an additional 13,004,828 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,950.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,291,926 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,671,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,259,940 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $379.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $420.19.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on GOOGL
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total value of $27,337.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,305,738.46. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 451,843 shares of company stock valued at $12,343,852. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.
Alphabet Stock Performance
NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $346.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $349.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.74. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.20 and a twelve month high of $408.61.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.
Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud and AI remain the main growth drivers. Rising Cloud revenue, AI adoption and a reported $514 billion backlog strengthen Alphabet’s competitive position against Microsoft and Amazon, although capacity constraints could limit near-term execution. Rising Cloud Revenue Strengthens Alphabet Against MSFT & AMZN
- Positive Sentiment: New Gemini and AI Mode features could increase user engagement and monetization. Google is expanding AI Mode to track flight prices and assist with hotel bookings, while reviews of its personal-intelligence tools suggest broader consumer adoption. Employees are also reportedly testing a next-generation Gemini Flash model. Google's AI Mode can now track flight prices, help book hotels, and more
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and technical momentum remain favorable. Brokerages maintain an average “Buy” recommendation, while technical commentary points to support above approximately $340. Alphabet’s valuation, margins and cash generation are viewed as attractive relative to many AI peers. Alphabet Receives Average Recommendation of Buy
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s custom-chip strategy is creating demand for AI infrastructure. Marvell’s large Google-related AI-chip opportunity highlights Alphabet’s willingness to invest in proprietary computing capacity, potentially supporting long-term performance and reducing reliance on outside suppliers. Marvell’s Google AI-chip opportunity
- Neutral Sentiment: Google changed its European spam and site-reputation policy. The adjustment is intended to address European Commission concerns and reduce the risk of an antitrust fine, but it may affect how Google ranks publisher content and reflects ongoing regulatory pressure. Google changes spam policy in EU to avert antitrust fine
- Negative Sentiment: Legal risks continue to weigh on the investment case. Multiple law firms announced securities-fraud investigations, while Google agreed to a $353 million settlement with UK app developers. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing but could create financial and reputational costs. Google agrees to settle UK app developers’ lawsuit
- Negative Sentiment: The FTC is reportedly considering action involving YouTube. The investigation concerns account suspensions and possible consumer-protection violations, adding another regulatory overhang for Alphabet. US FTC probes YouTube over social media policies
About Alphabet
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
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