Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s 5th Largest Position

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,100,737 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 160,019 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 4.5% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $970,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co increased its stake in Alphabet by 142.9% in 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 during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $361.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $325.75. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion investment signals strong outside confidence in Alphabet’s AI and cloud strategy. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion for AI goals, Berkshire to invest $10 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to argue that Alphabet remains a high-margin cash generator with attractive long-term earnings power. Google: AI Skeptics Proven Wrong as Business Booms
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Alphabet’s expanding AI coding, hardware, and device strategy highlights broader growth opportunities, but it is not the main driver of today’s move. Microsoft and Google are late to AI coding, but ‘absolutely critical’ they compete for growth
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed $80 billion stock sale raises dilution concerns and underscores how expensive Alphabet’s AI race has become. Exclusive: EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders, draft document shows
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that EU cloud rules could restrict Google’s access to strategic government tenders add a regulatory overhang for the cloud business. Alphabet to raise $80 billion in equity capital for AI spending

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $435.00 price objective (up from $427.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $413.04.

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.