Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Lifted by Bensler LLC

Bensler LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 117,360 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 3.7% of Bensler LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $36,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $277,696,000 after acquiring an additional 93,293 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,171,000 after acquiring an additional 8,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 72,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,652,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital boosted their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $412.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $390.13 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $344.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.00 and a 1-year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud announced a partnership with Swedish private equity firm EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing Google Cloud’s enterprise AI momentum. Reuters: Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, began opening its new Ojai robotaxi to select riders; the vehicle is designed to be cheaper to manufacture and lower fleet-expansion costs, which could improve the long-term economics of the business. CNBC: Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly reiterated a bullish view on Alphabet Class A shares, adding to the case that investors still see upside in the company’s core businesses and AI initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is testing Gemini-powered Search ad formats, including conversational discovery and highlighted answers, which could eventually boost monetization but is still in the early rollout phase. Yahoo Finance: GOOGL’s Innovative Ad Format to Boost Search Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Alphabet’s stock valuation and technical setup, including commentary suggesting support near current levels and possible upside toward $400, but these are market opinions rather than new fundamentals. Finbold: Google stock is guaranteed to hit $400…
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Justice Department charged a Google software engineer with insider trading tied to Polymarket bets, which adds reputational noise and could keep scrutiny on Alphabet’s internal controls and compliance culture. Reuters: US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor commentary, including DuckDuckGo’s criticism of Google’s AI search overhaul and claims that some users are switching away, highlights ongoing competitive and antitrust pressure on Alphabet’s Search franchise. Yahoo Finance: ‘It’s Time To Fire Google,’ Urges Alphabet’s Search Engine Rival

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.