Banco Santander S.A. Grows Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its Alphabet stake by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 597,430 shares valued at about $187.5 million. Alphabet now ranks as the fund’s 14th-largest holding.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive on GOOG, with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $376.78. Several analysts recently reiterated bullish calls, including target increases and upgrades.
• Alphabet posted strong quarterly results, reporting $5.11 EPS on revenue of $109.9 billion, both ahead of expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, while insider selling continued over the past 90 days.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 597,430 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 132,492 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.4% of Banco Santander S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $187,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $1,017,756,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $678,198,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Five 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $358.16 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $357.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.44. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. 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:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s drone-delivery unit Wing expanded into seven more U.S. cities with Walmart, reinforcing that its Other Bets can scale into real businesses and may be more valuable than the market gives them credit for.
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly membership program, adding a recurring-revenue layer to its robotaxi business and highlighting rapid growth in paid rides, which investors may see as a meaningful long-term opportunity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and commentary pieces remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and search setup, with some calling it an AI powerhouse and lifting price targets, which supports the stock’s bullish narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is also expanding its real-estate listings nationwide and continuing to deepen its AI infrastructure and chip strategy, reinforcing multiple growth avenues beyond search advertising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google filed suit against an alleged Chinese cybercrime group that used AI to scam victims, a move that shows the company is actively defending its platforms, though the stock impact is likely limited unless the issue escalates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet declined a $2 billion U.S. quantum-computing funding program, saying the terms could slow development; that may be viewed as a strategic choice rather than a major financial event.
• Neutral Sentiment: News that some billionaire investors sold Alphabet in Q1 while others bought more adds to the debate, but it does not change the underlying business fundamentals by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage continues to focus on worries about rising capital expenditures and AI monetization, which can pressure sentiment if investors fear Alphabet’s AI spending will take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI Overview feature has also faced renewed controversy, adding another small overhang around search quality and user trust.

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.