Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s 6th Largest Position

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 800,992 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,482 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.3% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $218,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is reportedly building a custom AI server chip, “Frozen v2,” to run Gemini more efficiently and reduce compute costs, which could improve long-term margins and support cloud growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet released new Gemini model variants, including cheaper and cybersecurity-focused versions, signaling continued AI product progress ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive into earnings, with expectations for strong revenue growth and continued strength in Search and Google Cloud.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are pricing in a meaningful post-earnings move, suggesting the stock could react sharply to Wednesday’s results either way.
• Neutral Sentiment: Senator Jerry Moran disclosed a purchase of GOOG shares, a modest signal of insider confidence but not a major market-moving catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Alphabet’s large AI and data-center spending, and the delayed Gemini Pro launch is adding to questions about execution and AI payoff.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing securities-fraud investigations create additional headline risk and may weigh on sentiment ahead of earnings.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $383.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $346.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.49 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $364.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.29.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. 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 $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.33 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders 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 a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.