Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Empirical Finance increased its Alphabet stake by 3.5% in the second quarter, adding 6,926 shares for a total of 204,352 shares valued at approximately $73 million. Alphabet now represents 3.0% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with $119.8 billion in revenue and $9.11 in earnings per share, well above analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $422.16.
• Key growth opportunities include AI chip sales, Cloud and Gemini demand, and Waymo’s planned Singapore expansion, while antitrust restrictions, elevated AI spending, higher interest rates, and insider selling remain risks.

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,352 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,926 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 3.0% of Empirical Finance LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $73,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $797,257,000. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group boosted its stake in Alphabet by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group now owns 3,959 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 5,092 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Range Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Range Advisory LLC now owns 20,651 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 6,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.3% in the second quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI chip sales add a new revenue stream: Alphabet began recognizing revenue from sales of its internally developed AI chip systems in the second quarter. Investors may view the business as both a potential growth driver and a way to monetize Google’s technology infrastructure. 2 Stocks to Buy as Google Starts Selling Its AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst raises price target: Tigress Financial Partners increased its price target for GOOGL to $485, reflecting confidence in Alphabet’s Search, Cloud, YouTube, Gemini and custom-chip opportunities. Alphabet Price Target Raised to $485
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expands internationally: Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit plans to launch an all-electric robotaxi service in Singapore by 2028, strengthening the long-term investment case for Alphabet’s “Other Bets” portfolio. Waymo to Bring Autonomous Ride-Hailing to Singapore
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity signals bullish positioning: Investors purchased roughly 520,000 Alphabet call options, above typical volume, indicating increased speculative interest in further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ad-tech ruling avoids a breakup but imposes restrictions: A federal judge ordered Google to share more auction data with publishers and appoint an antitrust monitor, but rejected a forced breakup. Avoiding structural separation limits the immediate risk to Alphabet’s advertising business, while the behavioral remedies could pressure operations and margins. Tech Watchdogs Criticize Google Adtech Ruling
• Negative Sentiment: Higher rates and AI spending remain risks: The Federal Reserve’s rate increase and Alphabet’s heavy investment in AI infrastructure could keep pressure on free cash flow and valuation, even as Cloud backlog and AI demand remain strong.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $349.54 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $235.84 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $345.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.18.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 450,875 shares of company stock valued at $11,984,482 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $515.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $422.16.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet's largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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