Hodges Capital Management Inc. Acquires 1,490 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management increased its Alphabet stake by 21.7% in the first quarter, buying 1,490 additional shares and bringing its total to 8,368 shares worth about $2.4 million.
• Alphabet reported a strong latest quarter, with EPS of $5.11 beating estimates and revenue of $109.9 billion topping expectations. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $413.73.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while recent insider activity showed net selling over the past 90 days.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,368 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $277,696,000 after buying an additional 93,293 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 274,761 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $86,000,000 after buying an additional 23,107 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $25,679,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,902,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $359.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $371.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $337.22. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.48 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 29th. China Renaissance boosted their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.73.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted by analysts and market commentators as a top large-cap or “monopoly” stock, with bullish takes pointing to its AI-enabled ad business, cloud exposure, and strong earnings outlook. Here’s Why Alphabet (GOOGL) Is One of the Best Monopoly Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
• Positive Sentiment: Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis called for a U.S.-led AI standards body, reinforcing Alphabet’s leadership role in frontier AI development and potentially supporting long-term investor confidence. Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis calls for U.S. to spearhead AI standards body
• Positive Sentiment: INVIDI announced a collaboration with Google to expand addressable advertising on unconnected set-top boxes, a potentially incremental ad monetization opportunity for Alphabet. INVIDI Technologies Collaborates with Google to Integrate Google Ad Manager...
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports say Alphabet continues to outperform the market and remains favored by growth investors, but these are mostly commentary pieces rather than new business developments. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting broader optimism around Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation, and AI chip strategy, which supports the stock but does not appear to be the main driver of the move. Google Vs. Nvidia: The Hidden Silicon Advantage That Could Let Google Dethrone Nvidia
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing fresh antitrust scrutiny in Switzerland over the removal of the Android “choice screen,” adding to regulatory pressure on its search dominance. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces a new class-action lawsuit from publishers and authors alleging improper use of copyrighted works to train Gemini, raising legal and potential cost risks. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers
• Negative Sentiment: UK and Swiss regulatory actions targeting Google Search and Android data portability also weigh on sentiment because they could weaken Alphabet’s search moat over time. Should UK Search Data Portability Rules For Google Reshape Alphabet’s Competitive Moat (GOOGL) Narrative?

Alphabet 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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