Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Decreased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,401,079 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 206,790 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.5% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,414,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Arete Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $413.54.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL opened at $359.91 on Friday. 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 $4.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $371.05 and its 200 day moving average is $334.41. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.77 and a 12-month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent stories highlight Alphabet’s AI and cloud momentum, including Google Cloud traction with enterprise customers like Jack Henry and growing use of Google’s cloud tech by Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo, which supports the bull case for future growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer argued that Alphabet still looks cheap, reinforcing a valuation-supportive narrative for GOOGL after its pullback. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with Wells Fargo keeping an overweight rating and multiple analysts maintaining buy recommendations, which may help support the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s insider selling by John Kent Walker appears routine and is not, by itself, a major fundamental concern for investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Alphabet’s growing role in AI-powered shopping, robotaxis, and other ecosystem developments adds to the long-term story, but these are more thesis-supportive than immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag is the EU Supreme Court decision upholding Alphabet’s €4.1 billion Android antitrust fine, which reinforces legal and regulatory overhangs for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A separate Swedish court ruling ordered Alphabet to pay nearly $2 billion in a price-comparison dispute, adding to the sense that antitrust and competition risks remain active. Article Title

Alphabet 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.