Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC Makes New $11.26 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Virtus Wealth Solutions opened a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter, buying 35,984 shares worth about $11.26 million. Alphabet now makes up roughly 2.1% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Alphabet’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $5.11 EPS versus the $2.64 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion versus the $106.98 billion forecast. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on GOOGL, with analysts issuing mostly Buy ratings and a consensus target price of $407.86. The stock recently traded around $387.35, near its 52-week high.

Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 35,984 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,263,000. Alphabet accounts for about 2.1% of Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,874,381 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,984,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 39,250,829 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,541,877,000 after purchasing an additional 392,547 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital raised their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. CICC Research raised their price target on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $407.86.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $387.35 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $323.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.16 and a 12-month high of $402.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.26.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. 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 a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is deepening Gemini’s role across Android, Search, Chrome, and the Gemini app, with new agentic AI features that can complete multi-step tasks, which could strengthen user engagement and long-term monetization. Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple's AI reboot
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled more AI-native products and updates, including Googlebooks laptops and new Gemini-powered Android features, underscoring that the company is pushing AI deeper into its ecosystem. Everything Google announced at its Android Show, from Googlebooks to vibe-coded widgets
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet announced an integration of Affirm and Klarna pay-over-time options into Google Pay, Search, and Gemini, which could improve conversion rates and make Google’s commerce ecosystem more valuable. Affirm Brings Pay-Over-Time Options to Google AI Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: Google-backed Isomorphic Labs raised $2.1 billion, highlighting Alphabet’s exposure to high-upside AI applications beyond search and advertising. Google-backed Isomorphic raises $2.1 billion to scale AI-driven drug discovery
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is reportedly considering a first-ever yen bond sale to help fund rising AI infrastructure spending, which supports growth plans but also signals higher capital needs. Alphabet considers first yen bond sale to fund AI goals
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo is recalling nearly 3,800 robotaxis over a software issue involving flooded roads, a reminder that Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit still faces operational and regulatory risk. Waymo to recall nearly 3,800 robotaxis over self-driving software issue

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

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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