Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Has $9.28 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Cassaday & Co Wealth Management increased its Alphabet stake by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 29,663 shares valued at about $9.28 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on Alphabet, with recent price targets ranging from $415 to $450 and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.22 per share.

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,663 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its position 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $412.65.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at $6,908,391. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted as a strong AI investment thanks to its vertically integrated AI stack and cloud growth, which some analysts say could help it compete effectively in the booming AI data center market.
• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out new AI-powered ad products at Marketing Live, including Gemini-based ad formats and AI search checkout tools, which could expand ad monetization and strengthen its core advertising business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet may invest up to $190 billion by 2026 underscore its aggressive push into AI and infrastructure, signaling continued long-term spending to defend and grow its leadership position.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Alphabet has the tools to win the AI race and remains a top-ranked growth stock may be reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s earnings and strategic outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit faced service interruptions in some cities due to flooded roads and construction zones, a reminder that the autonomous driving business still has operational hurdles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Google’s AI security challenges and its smart-glasses partnerships adds to the long-term innovation story, but these developments are not likely to move the stock immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union is reportedly preparing to fine Google a high triple-digit million-euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation, increasing regulatory risk for Alphabet’s core business and pressuring sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also appealing a court ruling tied to its search monopoly, keeping antitrust uncertainty alive for investors focused on the durability of its search dominance.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $382.97 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $339.34 and a 200-day moving average of $322.26. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.00 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

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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