Bauman Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Bauman Advisory Group LLC initiated a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter, buying 1,742 shares valued at about $545,000.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $5.11 versus analysts’ expectations of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts now see full-year EPS around 14.3.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, and the stock remains supported by mostly bullish analyst ratings with an average Moderate Buy target of $413.13.

Bauman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,742 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.3%

Alphabet stock opened at $368.48 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $408.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $366.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s core AI and cloud story got another boost after reports highlighted strong earnings momentum and a rapidly expanding Google Cloud backlog, reinforcing the view that business demand remains healthy. Alphabet Just Beat Earnings by 94% and Doubled Its Cloud Backlog to $460 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it nearly tripled its Alphabet stake, a notable vote of confidence from a major value investor that may support sentiment. Warren Buffett Just Tripled Down on the Stock Bill Ackman Is Selling
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC announced a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to expand AI usage, adding another large enterprise customer to Alphabet’s cloud growth narrative. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI-related plans, including an “AI Control Roadmap” to address rogue AI agents, underscoring continued investment and leadership in AI infrastructure and safety. Google Devises Battle Plan to Combat Rogue AI Agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s AI talent war remains a focus after Noam Shazeer, a co-lead on Gemini, reportedly left for OpenAI, which may raise questions about retention but does not change the core business overnight. Google's Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo issued a recall of about 3,900 robotaxis after software issues caused vehicles to enter highway construction zones, adding regulatory and execution risk to Alphabet’s self-driving unit. Waymo to recall over 3,800 robotaxis over risk of entering closed construction zones
• Negative Sentiment: A director sold a meaningful block of shares, which can modestly weigh on sentiment even though insider sales are not always a bearish signal. SEC filing for John L. Hennessy sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.13.

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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