Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Acquires 8,981 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its Alphabet stake by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 8,981 shares and bringing its total to 240,332 shares worth about $75.2 million.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on GOOGL, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with an average target of $413.13.
• Alphabet’s recent news flow has been positive overall, highlighted by strong Gemini app user growth and a quarterly earnings beat, though investors are still watching AI spending and its impact on margins.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,332 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,981 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.7% of Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $75,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,476,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 29th. President Capital increased their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $413.13.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini app reportedly doubled its monthly users to 900 million, reinforcing the company’s momentum in consumer AI and supporting the case that its AI investments are translating into real usage.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive, with one report citing TD Cowen’s view that Alphabet could rise further by 2027, reflecting ongoing confidence in its earnings power and AI/cloud growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was highlighted as a long-term value-and-growth story, with its search cash engine funding a growing cloud and AI franchise at what some analysts view as an attractive valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent convertible preferred offering and related financing coverage suggest it still has strong access to capital as it expands AI infrastructure, which can help fund growth initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s large AI spending plans remain a key debate, with some analysts warning that rising capex could weigh on near-term profitability even if it supports future growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position change, so it does not appear to be a major driver of the stock move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports linking Alphabet to major AI compute deals and supplier arrangements, including Google Cloud usage by other tech firms, reinforce its strategic importance in AI but are not directly tied to near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles focus on pressure from Alphabet’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending, including concerns that capex could compress margins and make investors more cautious about the stock’s high expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: One report specifically warned that Alphabet’s net profit margin deserves closer scrutiny after the stock’s strong run, suggesting investors may be increasingly sensitive to any slowdown in profitability.

Insider Activity 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $364.26 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $356.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

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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