VMS Asset Management Limited Purchases Shares of 17,110 Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• VMS Asset Management Limited disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Alphabet, buying 17,110 shares valued at about $5.36 million.
• Alphabet continues to attract major institutional interest, with large investors like Norges Bank, Berkshire Hathaway, Vanguard, and others adding to or initiating sizable positions.
• The article also highlights improving fundamentals and sentiment around Alphabet, including strong quarterly earnings, a higher dividend, and analyst price-target increases tied to AI and cloud growth, even as some legal and operational risks remain.

VMS Asset Management Limited purchased 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 purchased 17,110 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,355,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,534,239,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,338,397,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,333,076,000 after buying an additional 6,874,381 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates for Alphabet, signaling confidence in the company’s earnings outlook and AI/cloud-driven growth. Veteran Analyst Firm Resets Alphabet Forecast for 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini features for small businesses, which could help drive broader adoption of its AI tools and support future subscription revenue. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Gemini app monthly users doubled to 900 million reinforce Alphabet’s momentum in AI products and its ability to monetize a large user base. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Reports Doubling of Gemini App Monthly Users to 900 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s valuation is being scrutinized after a strong run, with some market coverage focusing on whether recent momentum can continue at the same pace. Alphabet NasdaqGS: GOOGL Valuation Check As Share Price Momentum Cools After Strong Year
• Negative Sentiment: Google and Meta were denied a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, leaving a legal overhang in place for Alphabet’s YouTube business. Market Chatter: Google, Meta Platforms Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case by California Judge
• Negative Sentiment: News that Gemini and Google Workspace AI tools experienced outages could weigh on sentiment around product reliability, even if the impact is likely temporary. Gemini Is Down? Live Updates on Google Workspace's AI Errors
• Negative Sentiment: A Reuters report said a fire at a third-party facility caused intermittent Google Cloud network disruptions in India, highlighting operational risk for the cloud business. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A broader warning that the AI data-center buildout may be less certain than expected could pressure sentiment across hyperscalers, including Alphabet, if investors worry about returns on heavy AI infrastructure spending. Wall Street's $800 Billion AI Data Center Bet Is Showing Cracks

Alphabet Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $356.38 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The company has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $357.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.64.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research upped their price target on Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, President Capital upped their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last three months. Company 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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