Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys 11,440 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 615,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,440 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.8% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $192,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Members Trust Co grew its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,489,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Wing Wealth Management grew its position in Alphabet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,155 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $412.65.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted as a strong AI investment thanks to its vertically integrated AI stack and cloud growth, which some analysts say could help it compete effectively in the booming AI data center market.
• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out new AI-powered ad products at Marketing Live, including Gemini-based ad formats and AI search checkout tools, which could expand ad monetization and strengthen its core advertising business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Alphabet may invest up to $190 billion by 2026 underscore its aggressive push into AI and infrastructure, signaling continued long-term spending to defend and grow its leadership position.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Alphabet has the tools to win the AI race and remains a top-ranked growth stock may be reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s earnings and strategic outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit faced service interruptions in some cities due to flooded roads and construction zones, a reminder that the autonomous driving business still has operational hurdles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Google’s AI security challenges and its smart-glasses partnerships adds to the long-term innovation story, but these developments are not likely to move the stock immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union is reportedly preparing to fine Google a high triple-digit million-euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation, increasing regulatory risk for Alphabet’s core business and pressuring sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Google is also appealing a court ruling tied to its search monopoly, keeping antitrust uncertainty alive for investors focused on the durability of its search dominance.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $382.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $339.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.26. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.00 and a 12-month high of $408.61. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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.