Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $1.40 Billion Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management more than doubled its Alphabet position in the second quarter, adding 2.03 million shares to hold 3.91 million shares worth approximately $1.40 billion. Alphabet now represents 1.7% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of $119.8 billion and earnings of $9.11 per share, exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $419.86.
• Recent developments include the launch of Gemini 3.7 Flash and new enterprise partnerships, but Alphabet faces concerns over heavy AI spending, delayed expectations for Gemini Pro, insider selling and a Zacks downgrade to “Hold.”

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 107.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,910,970 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,025,076 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.7% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,397,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $277,696,000 after buying an additional 93,293 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,902,000. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 118,966 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $37,236,000 after buying an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 66.1% during the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 22,877 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,161,000 after acquiring an additional 9,105 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed that it still owns a substantial stake in SpaceX, an investment that has reportedly generated an exceptional return since 2015. The holding could provide significant balance-sheet value, although it does not directly improve Alphabet’s operating earnings. Google Parent Alphabet Just Revealed How Many SpaceX Shares It Owns
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Gemini 3.7 Flash, targeting software coding and automated business workflows. The release supports Alphabet’s effort to monetize Gemini through enterprise and developer use, though investors noted that Google provided no timing for its flagship Pro model. Google unveils Gemini 3.7 Flash AI model
• Positive Sentiment: A new partnership with Zocdoc will allow users to book healthcare appointments directly through the Gemini app. The initiative adds a practical, potentially commercial use case for Gemini while emphasizing data privacy. Gemini and Zocdoc launch AI doctor booking
• Positive Sentiment: Ryanair signed a five-year Google Cloud agreement covering Gemini, DeepMind and Workspace across approximately 35,000 employees. The contract adds evidence of enterprise demand for Google’s cloud and AI offerings. Ryanair signs five-year Google Cloud deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Google unveiled Pixel 11 devices, Pixel Watch 5 and a $29 Pixel Tag, with Gemini integration as the main product theme. The launches strengthen Alphabet’s consumer ecosystem, but limited hardware changes make their sales impact uncertain. Google unveils Pixel 11 lineup
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from “strong buy” to “hold,” citing the stock’s pullback, heavy AI spending and pressure on cash flow despite strong Cloud growth and a reported $514 billion backlog. GOOGL down from 52-week high
• Negative Sentiment: Prediction-market odds for an imminent Gemini Pro launch collapsed, raising concerns that Google may be moving slower than expected in the frontier-AI race. Separately, Nvidia’s major financing and chip initiative could intensify competition with Alphabet’s custom AI hardware. Traders slash odds on imminent Gemini Pro launch
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but adds legal and headline risk. Pomerantz investor alert

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock worth $12,382,714. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $379.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $419.86.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $346.36 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $354.11 and its 200-day moving average is $341.06. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.60 and a 1-year 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 has a market cap of $4.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 4.42%.

About Alphabet

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.

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