Prudential PLC Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Prudential PLC increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 839,689 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,602 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.1% of Prudential PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $263,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Steginsky Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Steginsky Capital LLC now owns 680,588 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,757,000 after buying an additional 6,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 157,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,333,000 after buying an additional 18,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

Alphabet stock opened at $353.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $355.05 and a 200 day moving average of $328.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $404.47. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.78.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding Gemini with new tools aimed at small businesses, which could help broaden adoption and monetize AI services. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s support for Anthropic’s $35 billion AI infrastructure financing deal reinforces its central role in AI buildout and could boost cloud demand. Google Backs $35 Billion Anthropic AI Infrastructure Financing Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Gemini monthly users have doubled highlight strong product momentum and strengthen the long-term AI growth story. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Reports Doubling of Gemini App Monthly Users to 900 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s reported $920 million-per-month AI compute deal with SpaceX may support future growth, but it also signals rising infrastructure spending and AI competition costs. Google’s $920 Million-a-Month Deal Could Supercharge the SpaceX IPO
• Negative Sentiment: A fire at a third-party data center caused intermittent Google Cloud disruptions in India, which could raise reliability concerns for some customers. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Google’s request for a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, leaving legal liability concerns in place. Meta and Google denied new trial after landmark verdict in youth social media addiction case

About Alphabet

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.