Diamant Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Diamant Asset Management dramatically increased its Alphabet stake in the first quarter, buying more than 9.25 million additional shares and making GOOGL its second-largest holding. The position was valued at about $2.67 billion at the end of the reporting period.
• Alphabet posted strong quarterly results, reporting $5.11 in EPS versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, topping estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 from $0.21.
• Despite upbeat business momentum and bullish analyst coverage, Alphabet continues to face regulatory pressure, including the EU court upholding its €4.1 billion Android antitrust fine and a separate Swedish court ruling ordering nearly $2 billion in damages.

Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 28,950.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,291,926 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,259,940 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 8.8% of Diamant Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Diamant Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Alphabet worth $2,671,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $277,696,000 after purchasing an additional 93,293 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Alphabet by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 274,761 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $86,000,000 after purchasing an additional 23,107 shares during the last quarter. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,902,000. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,717 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $359.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $371.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $334.41. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.77 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent stories highlight Alphabet’s AI and cloud momentum, including Google Cloud traction with enterprise customers like Jack Henry and growing use of Google’s cloud tech by Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo, which supports the bull case for future growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer argued that Alphabet still looks cheap, reinforcing a valuation-supportive narrative for GOOGL after its pullback. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with Wells Fargo keeping an overweight rating and multiple analysts maintaining buy recommendations, which may help support the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s insider selling by John Kent Walker appears routine and is not, by itself, a major fundamental concern for investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Alphabet’s growing role in AI-powered shopping, robotaxis, and other ecosystem developments adds to the long-term story, but these are more thesis-supportive than immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag is the EU Supreme Court decision upholding Alphabet’s €4.1 billion Android antitrust fine, which reinforces legal and regulatory overhangs for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A separate Swedish court ruling ordered Alphabet to pay nearly $2 billion in a price-comparison dispute, adding to the sense that antitrust and competition risks remain active. Article Title

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $435.00 to $416.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $413.54.

Alphabet Company 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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