Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Lifted by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 180,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,001 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $56,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $382.97 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.00 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $337.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $321.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Q1 results were highlighted as one of the strongest among the Mag 7, with Google Cloud showing accelerating sales growth and broader AI momentum helping investor sentiment. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s I/O announcements continued to reinforce Alphabet’s AI story, including new AI search experiences, agent tools, and upcoming AI glasses that suggest the company is expanding beyond traditional search. We tried Google’s AI glasses and they’re almost there
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with multiple firms reiterating positive views and new AI ad formats seen as potentially boosting conversions and monetization in Search and Commerce. Alphabet’s new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled a $15 billion Missouri data center investment, underscoring continued capital spending to support AI infrastructure and cloud demand. Google Unveils $15 Billion Missouri Data Center Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discussed Google’s revamped AI-driven search experience and agent ecosystem, which are strategically important but still too early to measure their near-term financial impact. Google is pitching an AI agent ecosystem to consumers who may not buy it
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo temporarily suspended service in multiple cities after robotaxis drove into flooded roads, adding another safety and execution concern for Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle unit. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s appeal of the antitrust ruling remains the biggest overhang, since a loss or forced remedies could eventually weigh on the company’s core search and advertising economics. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $435.00 price target (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $412.65.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total transaction of $37,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet 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.