Eschler Asset Management LLP Invests $4.61 Million in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Eschler Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 14,690 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,610,000. Alphabet comprises about 3.1% of Eschler Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 71,841,419 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,543,838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $358.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $357.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s drone-delivery unit Wing expanded into seven more U.S. cities with Walmart, reinforcing that its Other Bets can scale into real businesses and may be more valuable than the market gives them credit for.
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly membership program, adding a recurring-revenue layer to its robotaxi business and highlighting rapid growth in paid rides, which investors may see as a meaningful long-term opportunity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and commentary pieces remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and search setup, with some calling it an AI powerhouse and lifting price targets, which supports the stock’s bullish narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is also expanding its real-estate listings nationwide and continuing to deepen its AI infrastructure and chip strategy, reinforcing multiple growth avenues beyond search advertising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google filed suit against an alleged Chinese cybercrime group that used AI to scam victims, a move that shows the company is actively defending its platforms, though the stock impact is likely limited unless the issue escalates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet declined a $2 billion U.S. quantum-computing funding program, saying the terms could slow development; that may be viewed as a strategic choice rather than a major financial event.
• Neutral Sentiment: News that some billionaire investors sold Alphabet in Q1 while others bought more adds to the debate, but it does not change the underlying business fundamentals by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage continues to focus on worries about rising capital expenditures and AI monetization, which can pressure sentiment if investors fear Alphabet’s AI spending will take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI Overview feature has also faced renewed controversy, adding another small overhang around search quality and user trust.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

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.