Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,966 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.5% of Wellington Shields & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Arete Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $420.19.
View Our Latest Report on Alphabet
Alphabet News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected the U.S. government’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange and other ad-tech assets. Although Alphabet must change certain business practices, avoiding a breakup preserves the company’s advertising infrastructure and revenue potential. Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
- Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway increased its Alphabet stake, with CEO Greg Abel describing Google as a significant AI player. The investment is a high-profile endorsement of Alphabet’s long-term competitive position in AI. Berkshire CEO Abel says Alphabet a significant player in AI
- Positive Sentiment: Google introduced conversational AI voice features for Gmail, Docs and Keep, expanding Gemini’s integration into widely used Workspace products. A new weather-forecasting model and planned AI image tools also highlight continued product development and potential monetization opportunities. Google launches AI voice features in Gmail, Docs and Keep
- Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its buy rating and set a $410 price target. Alphabet will also pay a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share to eligible shareholders, adding to its shareholder-return appeal. Google to pay dividends this month
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to purchase approximately 396 megawatts of geothermal power from Fervo Energy for a Utah data center, with an expansion option. The deal supports reliable power for AI infrastructure but also underscores the scale and cost of Alphabet’s data-center buildout.
- Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh antitrust-related behavioral remedies, a securities-fraud investigation, insider selling reports and concerns that the promised Gemini 3.5 Pro flagship model remains delayed. These issues could limit sentiment despite the favorable breakup ruling. Securities fraud investigation into Alphabet
Alphabet Price Performance
Shares of GOOGL opened at $342.48 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.11 and a 1-year high of $408.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $349.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.64.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Alphabet
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
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