Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) shot up 3.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $373.65 and last traded at $370.92. 28,123,000 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 32,272,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.51.
Alphabet News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett said he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet, a high-profile endorsement that helped boost sentiment around GOOGL and reinforced the view that the stock remains attractive even after its run-up. Warren Buffett tells CNBC he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Alphabet’s AI momentum across Search and Cloud, along with strong backlog and improving economics, supporting the case that the stock’s premium valuation can be justified by growth. GOOGL Stock: Do AI Growth Drivers Justify the Premium Valuation?
- Positive Sentiment: Several previews said Alphabet’s upcoming earnings report could bring another beat, with expectations for earnings growth, solid Google Cloud results, and resilience in Search. Alphabet (GOOGL) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Alphabet from hold to strong-buy, adding to the bullish tone around the shares. Zacks upgrade to strong-buy
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet announced its largest solar power and battery storage purchase to date, a positive ESG and infrastructure move, but one that is unlikely to move the stock materially on its own. Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant
- Negative Sentiment: The European Commission is preparing fresh fines against Google, renewing regulatory overhang in Europe and raising the risk of added legal costs or penalties. EU Prepares to Fine Google as Part of Increased Big Tech Enforcement
- Negative Sentiment: Google is also facing additional scrutiny and criticism over AI and search, including a report claiming its AI search features pose risks for kids and a separate lawsuit from publishers over AI training data. Google’s AI search engine poses ‘unacceptable risks for kids,’ bombshell report finds
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (down from $410.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. China Renaissance increased their price target on Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.73.
Alphabet Trading Up 3.2%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $371.39 and its 200 day moving average is $337.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.
Insider Activity
In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Community Trust NA boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 18,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,681,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Walker Asset Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Lee Kelleher & Klein Wealth Management bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $302,000. Buska Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.7% in the second quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC now owns 875 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hyperion Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.5% during the second quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,380,352 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $493,296,000 after buying an additional 142,163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.
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.
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