West Michigan Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 26% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,887 additional shares and bringing its total to 9,141 shares valued at about $2.86 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 beating estimates by $2.47 and revenue of $109.9 billion topping expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on GOOGL, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with an average target price of $407.86. However, the stock also faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny, including an EU antitrust probe and a new UK lawsuit over online display ads.

West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,141 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during 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 buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,984,744,000 after buying an additional 1,034,292 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 39,250,829 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,541,877,000 after acquiring an additional 392,547 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

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

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $318.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.20 and a 52-week high of $402.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS 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 given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $320.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus increased their target price on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $407.86.

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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