BLB&B Advisors LLC Buys 2,145 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,229 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.9% of BLB&B Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $50,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,534,239,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Alphabet by 855.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,546,413,000 after acquiring an additional 13,004,828 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28,950.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,291,926 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,671,986,000 after acquiring an additional 9,259,940 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. China Renaissance lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, President Capital lifted their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $420.19.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $346.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $351.05 and its 200 day moving average is $341.51. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.65 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 4.42%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its Alphabet position. Berkshire’s second-quarter filing reportedly showed an 83% increase in its stake to approximately $37.8 billion, making Alphabet one of its largest holdings. The purchase may reinforce investor confidence in Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation and AI growth prospects. Berkshire Boosts Its Bet: This AI Hyperscaler Is Now a Top-3 Holding
• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini Enterprise into legal and financial services. New specialized AI agents and tools could help Google Cloud monetize Gemini, compete with Anthropic and OpenAI, and deepen relationships with high-value enterprise customers. Google expands Gemini AI platform for law firms, lawyers
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet-owned Waymo is expanding internationally. Waymo plans to test autonomous vehicles in Munich and launch commercial driverless rides in Germany in 2027, its first European market. The move supports the long-term growth case for Alphabet’s autonomous-driving investments, although near-term financial benefits are likely limited. Waymo to begin testing autonomous vehicles in Munich
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s in-house TPU strategy is attracting attention. Reports that TPU volume could potentially triple by 2027 suggest growing demand for Google’s AI infrastructure and could improve cloud economics while reducing reliance on Nvidia hardware. Google TPU Volume Could Triple to 8.8 Million by 2027
• Neutral Sentiment: Google reportedly plans to move Pixel manufacturing out of China by 2027. Shifting production to Vietnam and India could diversify supply chains, but relocation costs and execution risks make the immediate earnings impact uncertain. Google plans to move all Pixel manufacturing out of China by 2027
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The notice provides few details, but securities-law investigations can create headline risk, potential legal expenses and uncertainty for shareholders. Investor Alert: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Alphabet
• Negative Sentiment: Possible delays to a new Gemini Pro release may be weighing on AI sentiment. Reports that a flagship Gemini update may not arrive before late September could raise concerns about Google’s pace of innovation as competition from Anthropic and OpenAI intensifies. Gemini Pro delay leaves Google with an empty flagship tier

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.