12,802 Shares in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Purchased by J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc.

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,802 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.9% of J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,625,595,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 5.0%

GOOGL opened at $349.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $162.00 and a one year high of $408.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $367.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $332.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and DeepMind announced a new AI research partnership with film studio A24, including about $75 million of investment, showing continued efforts to commercialize AI in creative tools. Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI spending, arguing that its cloud growth and AI investments could still be monetized over time. Morgan Stanley sees monetization potential in Google AI spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s cloud business continues to grow quickly and remains a key long-term driver, but heavy AI spending is also increasing near-term cost concerns. Is Alphabet the Best “Magnificent Seven” AI Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet stock is falling more than the broader market as investors worry about a high-profile AI talent exodus from Google DeepMind and Gemini leadership. Alphabet paces for worst day in a year on AI concerns after high-profile exits
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Google DeepMind scientist John Jumper left for Anthropic added to fears that Alphabet is losing key AI researchers to competitors. Alphabet Is Now Cheaper Than What Berkshire Paid
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo’s recall of 3,871 robotaxis after a software glitch is another reminder that Alphabet’s autonomy business still faces execution risk. Waymo Just Recalled 3,800 Robotaxis. Is Google’s Self-Driving Dream Hitting a Wall?

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.