Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 2,240,380 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 33.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,950,794 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,240,380 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 3.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,567,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,155 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.2% in the first quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,155,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 2,690 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Community Bank of Raymore lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 4,479 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamilton Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $161,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s advertising business is still growing, with one analyst note pointing to rising ad revenues and AI-driven ad tools as a source of further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in big tech and AI names looks more like a buying opportunity than a broken AI thesis, and included Alphabet among the core beneficiaries of the AI trend. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to get bullish long-term commentary from investors who see it as a strong growth and AI compounder, helped by Google Cloud momentum and AI monetization potential. Alphabet: Still A Top-Tier AI Compounder
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a notable index inclusion but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Alphabet Set to Join Dow Jones Industrial Average as Verizon Exits Index (GOOG)
• Neutral Sentiment: A new bill would study data-center energy and water measurement standards, which could eventually affect Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure, but it does not create immediate regulation. New Bill: Representative Suhas Subramanyam introduces H.R. 9372: Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is centered on Google’s AI talent exodus, with reports of more researchers leaving for rivals like Anthropic, raising worries about execution in Gemini and broader AI competitiveness. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Google is taking a tougher stance with publishers to secure broader content access for AI training, while publishers warn that traffic declines are already hurting them, adding to regulatory and relationship risk. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles this week continued to highlight weakness in the “all-in on AI” trade and pressure on Alphabet shares tied to AI talent losses and competitive fears. Ranking the FAANG Stocks From Most to Least Attractive, Based on Future Cash Flow

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 151,523 shares of company stock valued at $4,863,526 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $334.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $366.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.94. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.71 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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:GOOG) last issued 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 return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

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.