Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s 3rd Largest Position

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,607,869 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,317,541 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.6% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,694,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,432 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 11,313 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 37,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,738,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 29,525 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,241,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $435.00 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 assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $410.84.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $396.78 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $403.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.27.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total transaction of $9,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Company 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.