Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Raised by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,581 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,291 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.8% of Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $47,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Symmetry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Members Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Insight 2811 Inc. now owns 3,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LJI Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet officially joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which boosted demand for the shares and highlighted the company’s growing importance in AI and large-cap tech. Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to bullish Wall Street views, including a higher price target from analysts and commentary that Alphabet remains a strong long-term growth stock. Alphabet Replaces Verizon In Dow Jones As Analyst Boosts Target To $415
• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced Nano Banana 2 Lite, a faster and cheaper AI image/video generator, which may strengthen its competitive position in generative AI. Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signed on to use the OpenUSD stablecoin for money movement, expanding Alphabet’s presence in digital payments and emerging commerce infrastructure. Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: One director disclosed a small stock sale, which is routine and not large enough to signal a major change in fundamentals. Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators are targeting Apple and Google app-store fees and payment restrictions, which could pressure Alphabet’s services revenue and app platform economics if rules are tightened. UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Some AI-related headlines noted talent loss to rivals and ongoing concerns about regulatory and AI-related risks, which may limit upside enthusiasm near term. Google hit by new AI brain drain as Anthropic poaches top Gemini talent

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 151,467 shares of company stock worth $4,877,600 in the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research raised their price objective on Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $413.90.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $357.37 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $369.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $333.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.77 and a 1-year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a 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 6.71%.

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.