Saudi Central Bank Acquires 192,728 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its Alphabet stake by 89.7% in the second quarter, purchasing 192,728 additional shares. Its holdings totaled 407,542 shares valued at approximately $145.6 million, representing 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with $9.11 in adjusted EPS and $119.8 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations. Investors are also watching new AI-chip sales, Waymo’s planned Singapore expansion and analysts’ generally bullish outlook.
• Key risks include ongoing AI infrastructure spending, higher interest rates and new ad-tech restrictions. Alphabet shares opened at $349.54, while insiders have sold roughly $12 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Saudi Central Bank grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 89.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 407,542 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 192,728 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.9% of Saudi Central Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Alphabet were worth $145,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 319.6% during the first quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. now owns 214 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38.5% during the second quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 180 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

More 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 450,875 shares of company stock valued at $11,984,482 over the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $349.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $235.84 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $345.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $344.91. 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 4.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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 note on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $422.16.

About Alphabet

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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