Bensler LLC Increases Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Bensler LLC boosted its Alphabet stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 1,547 shares to bring its holdings to 117,360 shares worth about $36.7 million. Alphabet is now Bensler’s fourth-largest position and makes up 3.7% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Alphabet, with an average price target of $412.65 and a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating. Recent analyst updates included higher targets from firms like New Street Research, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.
• Alphabet’s latest business updates were mixed but mostly positive: Google Cloud announced an AI partnership with EQT, Waymo expanded testing of its lower-cost robotaxi, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share. At the same time, Alphabet continues to face competitive, regulatory, and compliance scrutiny.

Bensler LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,360 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 3.7% of Bensler LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bensler LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $36,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $165,567,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,333,076,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,984,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. New Street Research increased their price objective on Alphabet from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $412.65.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud announced a partnership with Swedish private equity firm EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing Google Cloud’s enterprise AI momentum. Reuters: Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, began opening its new Ojai robotaxi to select riders; the vehicle is designed to be cheaper to manufacture and lower fleet-expansion costs, which could improve the long-term economics of the business. CNBC: Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly reiterated a bullish view on Alphabet Class A shares, adding to the case that investors still see upside in the company’s core businesses and AI initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is testing Gemini-powered Search ad formats, including conversational discovery and highlighted answers, which could eventually boost monetization but is still in the early rollout phase. Yahoo Finance: GOOGL's Innovative Ad Format to Boost Search Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Alphabet’s stock valuation and technical setup, including commentary suggesting support near current levels and possible upside toward $400, but these are market opinions rather than new fundamentals. Finbold: Google stock is guaranteed to hit $400...
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Justice Department charged a Google software engineer with insider trading tied to Polymarket bets, which adds reputational noise and could keep scrutiny on Alphabet’s internal controls and compliance culture. Reuters: US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor commentary, including DuckDuckGo’s criticism of Google’s AI search overhaul and claims that some users are switching away, highlights ongoing competitive and antitrust pressure on Alphabet’s Search franchise. Yahoo Finance: 'It's Time To Fire Google,' Urges Alphabet's Search Engine Rival

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $390.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.00 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $344.32 and a 200 day moving average of $324.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total transaction of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Profile

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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