Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its Alphabet stake by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 205,369 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,887,621 shares worth about $590.8 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 versus estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion, while analysts generally remain constructive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $407.86 target price.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, and recent news highlighted more AI-driven product development, including Google Ads automation tools and cloud partnerships, even as regulatory and legal scrutiny continues.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,887,621 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 205,369 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.0% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Alphabet were worth $590,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,338,397,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after buying an additional 6,874,381 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP grew its stake in Alphabet by 23,402.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 6,118,547 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,487,419,000 after buying an additional 6,092,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 259.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 7,221,115 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,755,453,000 after buying an additional 5,210,434 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $318.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $152.20 and a one year high of $402.00. The company has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $390.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $407.86.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled upcoming AI-powered bidding and budget-pacing tools for Google Ads, which could make Search and Shopping advertising more efficient and attractive for advertisers. Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets on Alphabet, including DBS Bank to $460 and other firms lifting estimates after the company’s earnings beat, reinforcing the view that results remain stronger than expected. DBS Bank Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet to 460
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s partnership with OTB Group on a generative-AI virtual try-on experience adds to the narrative that Alphabet can monetize AI across enterprise and retail use cases. Google Cloud Partners With OTB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong investor appetite for AI leaders such as Google, and recent coverage continues to frame Alphabet as one of the main beneficiaries of the AI spending cycle. Google, Broadcom Drive Delirious Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports on Google’s AI “agent” efforts and AI search features suggest Alphabet is expanding its product lead in next-generation search and automation tools. Meta, Google enter AI agent race
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also getting more time to address EU regulators’ concerns in an ongoing antitrust investigation, which removes some immediate pressure but does not eliminate the legal overhang. Google Gets More Time in EU Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a new UK lawsuit over online display ads, adding another antitrust/legal risk that could weigh on sentiment if regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Google Faces New UK Lawsuit Over Online Display Ads

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,908,391. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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