Elefante Mark B Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Elefante Mark B grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,733 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,897 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 6.7% of Elefante Mark B's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Elefante Mark B's holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $45,625,595,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $21,630,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $338.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.12. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded its partnership with Cathay Pacific to test AI designed to reduce aircraft contrail warming. Early real-world testing reportedly cut contrail-related warming by 40%, highlighting potential environmental applications for Google’s AI technology. Cathay Pacific, Google expand AI trials to cut climate-warming aircraft contrails
• Positive Sentiment: Pixxel, an Indian satellite startup backed by Google, raised $100 million in new funding. The deal strengthens Alphabet’s exposure to Earth observation, space software and sovereign space systems, although the financial effect on Alphabet itself is likely limited. Google-backed Indian space startup raises $100 million in latest funding round
• Positive Sentiment: Several investment articles argue Alphabet is underappreciated within the “Magnificent Seven,” citing its search and cloud cash flows, AI opportunities and a valuation viewed as reasonable relative to growth. Berkshire Hathaway’s continued Alphabet purchases also provide a prominent vote of confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Warren Buffett reportedly initiated Berkshire’s Alphabet investment, while Greg Abel is expected to maintain significant influence over the portfolio. The development is sentiment-positive but does not change Alphabet’s operating outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s partnerships with AI companies, including CrowdStrike, reinforce its role in enterprise AI and cybersecurity, but the commercial impact remains uncertain. CrowdStrike unveiled a broad AI security platform push
• Negative Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s fund fully exited Alphabet in the second quarter and bought Netflix instead, citing concern that aggressive AI infrastructure spending could pressure profitability and increase volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary warns that rising AI capital expenditures are reducing returns on capital and could challenge Alphabet’s traditionally strong financial profile.
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced a securities-fraud investigation seeking Alphabet investors, but the announcement provides no finding of wrongdoing and appears primarily to solicit shareholders.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Truist Financial set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $420.19.

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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