Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 473,577 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,010 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.8% of Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $136,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $277,696,000 after purchasing an additional 93,293 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,679,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Alphabet by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 274,761 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,000,000 after buying an additional 23,107 shares during the last quarter. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $28,902,000. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,736,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $351.99 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.15 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $368.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.41. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.33 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is reportedly developing a new AI server chip to make Gemini run more efficiently, which could improve performance and reduce infrastructure costs. Reuters: Google plans new chip to run Gemini models more efficiently
• Positive Sentiment: Shares were also lifted by reports that Alphabet’s AI chip initiative could strengthen its competitive position against Nvidia and support its broader AI rollout. Yahoo Finance: Alphabet stock gains on report of next-generation AI chip project
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators say Alphabet’s upcoming Q2 results could be supported by Search ad strength, Cloud growth, and rising subscriptions, with expectations for an earnings surprise still elevated. Zacks: Will Alphabet’s Q2 Earnings Reignite the Tech Rally?
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain generally constructive on Alphabet ahead of earnings, with some notes suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Zacks: Wall Street Analysts Think Alphabet (GOOGL) Is a Good Investment: Is It?
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s upcoming earnings report is expected to be a major event for the stock, with traders bracing for a potentially large move depending on guidance and AI capex plans. Investopedia: Here’s How Much Google Parent Alphabet’s Stock Is Seen Moving After Earnings Wednesday
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Alphabet as one of this week’s most closely watched earnings names, but these were largely preview pieces rather than new fundamental developments. Proactive Investors: Week ahead: Wall Street gears up for volatility as Big Tech earnings kick into high gear
• Negative Sentiment: One New York Times report criticized Google’s AI search features as potentially harming the open web, which could add regulatory and reputational pressure over time. NYT: How Google’s A.I. Search Is Imperiling the Open Web
• Negative Sentiment: Two securities-fraud investigation notices may create some headline overhang, although they are routine plaintiff-lawyer announcements and not evidence of new wrongdoing. Globe Newswire: Securities Fraud Investigation Into Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Continues

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 in the last ninety days. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $414.11.

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.