Rayburn West Financial Services LLC Invests $13.98 Million in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Rayburn West Financial Services opened a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter, buying 44,663 shares valued at about $13.98 million. Alphabet is now the firm’s largest holding, representing 8.7% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their Alphabet stakes, and 40.03% of the stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions. This suggests continued broad professional interest in the company.
• Wall Street remains mostly bullish on Alphabet, with analysts giving it a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.33. Recent reports also highlighted stronger earnings, a small dividend increase, and ongoing AI-related developments.

Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 44,663 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,980,000. Alphabet accounts for 8.7% of Rayburn West Financial Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Insight 2811 Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. Argus raised their price objective on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $390.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $435.00 target price (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised their target price on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.33.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion commitment gives Alphabet a high-profile endorsement and suggests long-term confidence in the company’s AI and cloud strategy. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion for AI goals, Berkshire to invest $10 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s ownership stakes in major private AI companies like SpaceX and Anthropic could provide hidden upside if those firms eventually go public. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs: What That Means For Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Alphabet’s expanding AI coding, hardware, and consumer-device strategy underscores the company’s push to compete more aggressively, but it does not appear to be the immediate stock-moving catalyst today. Microsoft and Google are late to AI coding, but 'absolutely critical' they compete for growth
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s proposed $80 billion capital raise is raising dilution concerns and signaling much heavier near-term AI capex, which is pressuring the shares. Exclusive: EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders, draft document shows
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that EU cloud rules could restrict Google’s access to strategic government tenders add another regulatory overhang for the company’s cloud business. Alphabet to raise $80 billion in equity capital for AI spending

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $376.37 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.00 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $347.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $325.75. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,516 shares of company stock worth $27,142,399. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

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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