Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Wisconsin Capital Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Wisconsin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,566 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 8.6% of Wisconsin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the 4th 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 position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $368.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $327.81. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.00 and a 1-year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
• Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock’s 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK ‘conduct requirement’

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Argus increased their target price on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho upped their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price target (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.13.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.