Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its Alphabet stake by 8.5% in the second quarter, adding 701,050 shares for a total of 8.96 million shares valued at approximately $3.16 billion.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, far exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $415.55.
• Despite bullish sentiment, investors remain focused on AI spending, competitive threats to Google Search advertising and ongoing regulatory pressure. Alphabet shares recently traded at $335.41, down 2.2%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,956,115 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 701,050 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.8% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.07% of Alphabet worth $3,164,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s outlook. Citizens analyst Andrew Boone expects the stock to reach a new all-time high over the next year, while recent GOOG targets have a median of $455, well above recent trading levels. Wall Street analyst sets Google price target
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s record cloud growth, Gemini development and expanding AI infrastructure continue to support the bullish case. Investors are debating whether the company’s large AI spending program will produce durable growth, but some analysts view the recent pullback as an opportunity. One Mag 7 stock to watch
• Positive Sentiment: Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an Indian IPO, potentially creating value for Alphabet’s investment and increasing visibility into one of its strategic holdings. Jio Platforms receives IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares for approximately $27,700, reducing her position by only 0.43%. The small transaction is unlikely to materially change Alphabet’s investment outlook, though broader insider activity has consisted entirely of sales during the past six months. Alphabet SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Meta’s AI-powered advertising products could challenge Google Search’s advertising dominance. OpenAI’s reported $1 billion advertising run rate adds to fears that competition for digital-ad budgets is intensifying. Bernstein warns on Meta competition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a major overhang. Google avoided a potential European penalty by changing search rules, while a £260 million U.K. app-store settlement adds another direct cost and highlights continuing scrutiny of its business practices. Google changes European search rules
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s aggressive AI capital expenditures are raising concerns about free-cash-flow pressure and future margins, particularly as investors compare its spending strategy with Amazon’s. Alphabet and Amazon AI capital spending
• Negative Sentiment: Google Maps’ decision to display “Lake America” for U.S. users has triggered backlash in Canada, creating reputational and political risk, although the immediate financial impact appears limited. Google Maps Lake America controversy

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.2%

GOOG opened at $335.41 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.96 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $347.52 and its 200 day moving average is $340.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.55.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source