Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 8,787 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,787 shares and bringing its total to 441,100 shares valued at about $138.1 million.
• Alphabet also saw broader institutional interest, with several hedge funds and asset managers adding shares; institutions now own 40.03% of the company.
• Alphabet posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 441,100 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,787 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.7% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $138,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $85,557,000 after acquiring an additional 48,805 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total transaction of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,908,391. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $403.70. The company's fifty day moving average is $329.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. CICC Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $410.84.

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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