Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust Invests $28.90 Million in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 92,339 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,902,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 7.7% of Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $277,696,000 after buying an additional 93,293 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.4% in the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 72,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,652,000 after buying an additional 3,740 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,736,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 8.5% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 924,927 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $224,850,000 after buying an additional 72,235 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $364.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $356.15 and its 200 day moving average is $329.17. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $408.61.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Arete Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini app reportedly doubled its monthly users to 900 million, reinforcing the company’s momentum in consumer AI and supporting the case that its AI investments are translating into real usage.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive, with one report citing TD Cowen’s view that Alphabet could rise further by 2027, reflecting ongoing confidence in its earnings power and AI/cloud growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was highlighted as a long-term value-and-growth story, with its search cash engine funding a growing cloud and AI franchise at what some analysts view as an attractive valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent convertible preferred offering and related financing coverage suggest it still has strong access to capital as it expands AI infrastructure, which can help fund growth initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s large AI spending plans remain a key debate, with some analysts warning that rising capex could weigh on near-term profitability even if it supports future growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position change, so it does not appear to be a major driver of the stock move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports linking Alphabet to major AI compute deals and supplier arrangements, including Google Cloud usage by other tech firms, reinforce its strategic importance in AI but are not directly tied to near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles focus on pressure from Alphabet’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending, including concerns that capex could compress margins and make investors more cautious about the stock’s high expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: One report specifically warned that Alphabet’s net profit margin deserves closer scrutiny after the stock’s strong run, suggesting investors may be increasingly sensitive to any slowdown in profitability.

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.