Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 20.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,078,924 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 531,699 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $885,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540 in the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.3%

GOOGL opened at $357.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $356.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.31. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.33 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.42%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is seeking up to $25 billion through a 10-part U.S. bond offering, with reports indicating orders could exceed $115 billion. The strong demand suggests investors and lenders remain confident in Alphabet’s credit profile, while the funds will support AI data centers, computing capacity and other corporate needs. Alphabet seeks up to $25 billion from its latest bond sale
• Positive Sentiment: AI demand continues to create growth opportunities for Google Cloud. AI lab Mirendil signed a multiyear agreement worth more than $100 million for Google Cloud computing capacity, reinforcing demand for Alphabet’s infrastructure and services. Mirendil signs Google Cloud deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Demis Hassabis is moving from day-to-day leadership of Google DeepMind to become Alphabet’s chief scientist and chair of DeepMind, with a focus on long-term research, artificial general intelligence and Isomorphic Labs. Management says the change is intended to improve coordination between research and commercialization. Demis Hassabis new role
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Hassabis’ reduced operating role, combined with the departure of longtime chief scientist Jeff Dean and other senior researchers, could weaken Alphabet’s ability to retain talent and compete in frontier AI. The leadership changes followed concerns about delays in Google’s next-generation Gemini products. Google AI leadership departures
• Negative Sentiment: The debt offering highlights the scale of Alphabet’s AI spending. Although borrowing can preserve cash for operations, it increases interest obligations and intensifies scrutiny over whether future AI revenue will justify the substantial capital investment. Alphabet bond offering and AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned $15 billion India data-center project faces opposition over potential effects on water supplies and wildlife, creating possible permitting, reputational and construction risks. Google India data center environmental concerns

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $379.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $419.86.

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.