Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Position Raised by Davis Selected Advisers

Davis Selected Advisers grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,118,760 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 348,166 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.4% of Davis Selected Advisers’ portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $976,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $387.66 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $333.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.32. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank increased their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Alphabet from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $410.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $411.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% 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, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and Blackstone announced a $5 billion AI infrastructure joint venture to build TPU-powered cloud capacity, which could deepen demand for Google’s custom chips and expand its AI ecosystem. Google, Blackstone to create new AI cloud company, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Google I/O showcased a broad AI push across Search, Gemini, Workspace, shopping, and video tools, reinforcing the idea that Alphabet is monetizing AI rather than just defending against rivals. Google debuts new AI models, personal AI agents in effort to keep pace with OpenAI and Anthropic
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Arete Research lifting its price target to $425 and maintaining a buy rating, signaling continued upside expectations. Arete Research adjusts price target on Alphabet to $425 from $405
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet said Gemini now has 900 million monthly users and AI Overviews has 2.5 billion monthly users, suggesting its AI products are already reaching scale. Google kicks off I/O conference with AI upgrades for coders, consumers
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed insider sales by a major shareholder, but the transactions appear routine and are not, by themselves, a strong fundamental signal. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are uneasy that Google’s AI-heavy search redesign could disrupt the company’s core ad model, especially as the “ten blue links” era fades. Google Search as you know it is over
• Negative Sentiment: There is also headline risk from broader scrutiny around platform responsibility and YouTube youth-safety issues, which may keep some investors cautious. Alphabet’s $5 Trillion Milestone: How AI Ambitions Are Fueling Google’s Record Run

Alphabet Company Profile

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.