Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 57,606 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 57,606 additional shares and bringing its total position to 805,215 shares valued at about $252 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.11 per share versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, both beating analyst estimates.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts have generally turned more bullish, with several raising price targets and consensus sentiment remaining “Moderate Buy.”

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 805,215 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 57,606 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.6% of Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $252,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $416,217,000. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,746 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,666,577 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $405,131,000 after purchasing an additional 60,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 72,608 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

Alphabet stock opened at $396.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $403.70. The business's 50-day moving average price is $329.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $317.27. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value 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 approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% 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 hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Evercore upped their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Alphabet from $385.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $410.84.

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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