MUFG Securities EMEA plc Buys 212,252 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 62.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 551,635 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 212,252 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.0% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $173,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $18,093,665,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of GOOG opened at $361.17 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $351.67 and a 200 day moving average of $327.90. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. 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 $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $376.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to benefit from strong AI demand, including reports that Google may place a large chip order with Intel and that its Gemini AI efforts could generate meaningful recurring revenue. Analysts also reiterated bullish views, citing ongoing demand for AI infrastructure and capex. Intel shares soar on reported in-house chip deal with Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit remains a competitive strength, with news that Waymo bought a large Arizona proving ground and broader coverage highlighting Waymo’s role in the growing robotaxi race. Waymo bought Apple’s self-driving car proving ground for $220M
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also drew attention after Apple’s WWDC keynote referenced Google help for AI features, reinforcing Google’s role in major AI partnerships, though the direct stock impact is less clear. Apple partnering with Google and Nvidia for most advanced AI model
• Negative Sentiment: The main drag on the stock is concern that Alphabet is aggressively raising capital and ramping spending on AI infrastructure, which could pressure near-term margins and free cash flow. Market commentary also pointed to valuation worries after the company’s recent financing plans. What’s Going On With Alphabet Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks notes GOOG has been sliding even as the broader market rose, suggesting investors are rotating away from Alphabet amid ongoing uncertainty about AI spending intensity and execution. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

Alphabet Company Profile

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.