Davis Selected Advisers Raises Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Davis Selected Advisers raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 710,963 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,912 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.0% of Davis Selected Advisers’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $223,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tradewinds LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2,134.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,984,000 after purchasing an additional 43,080 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 84,553 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $386.77 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $320.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.53. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.58 and a 12 month high of $398.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $362.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said it likely stopped a hacker group from using AI to plan a large-scale cyberattack, underscoring the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities and reducing the risk of a major breach. Reuters: Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remained upbeat on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and Gemini momentum, with some coverage arguing the company could challenge Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. MSN: Alphabet could overtake Nvidia as world’s largest company
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance is expanding in Europe, adding another AI-focused product initiative, but this is more of a long-term growth story than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. PYMNTS: Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.