Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Raised by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,466,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,749,161 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.9% of Hsbc Holdings PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,154,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its position in Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $349.68 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $367.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.00 and a fifty-two week 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $390.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and DeepMind announced a new AI research partnership with film studio A24, including about $75 million of investment, showing continued efforts to commercialize AI in creative tools. Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI spending, arguing that its cloud growth and AI investments could still be monetized over time. Morgan Stanley sees monetization potential in Google AI spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s cloud business continues to grow quickly and remains a key long-term driver, but heavy AI spending is also increasing near-term cost concerns. Is Alphabet the Best “Magnificent Seven” AI Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet stock is falling more than the broader market as investors worry about a high-profile AI talent exodus from Google DeepMind and Gemini leadership. Alphabet paces for worst day in a year on AI concerns after high-profile exits
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Google DeepMind scientist John Jumper left for Anthropic added to fears that Alphabet is losing key AI researchers to competitors. Alphabet Is Now Cheaper Than What Berkshire Paid
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo’s recall of 3,871 robotaxis after a software glitch is another reminder that Alphabet’s autonomy business still faces execution risk. Waymo Just Recalled 3,800 Robotaxis. Is Google’s Self-Driving Dream Hitting a Wall?

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.