In this article, we discuss 5 best Vanguard stocks to buy now. If you want to see more of the top Vanguard holdings, click 11 Best Vanguard Stocks to Buy Now.
5. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Percentage of Vanguard’s Stake: 4.17%
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is an American multinational technology conglomerate that specializes in artificial intelligence, automation, autonomous cars, biotechnology, cloud computing, computer hardware, corporate venture capital, robotics, and software via its subsidiaries. Vanguard owned over 12.5 million shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Class A and Class C shares, worth about $35 billion, representing 4.17% of the total portfolio.
On April 26, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported its Q1 results, announcing earnings per share of $24.62, missing estimates by $0.93. The revenue grew about 23% year-over-year to $68.01 billion, topping market forecasts by $124.63 million.
Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris on April 27 maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) but lowered the firm’s price target on the stock to $3,000 from $3,350 after the company’s Q1 revenue growth of 22.8% came in below his consensus estimates. He noted that underperformance across Google Services was partially compensated by modest outperformance in Cloud. He still views Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) as “a top technology leader”, the analyst told investors.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 158 hedge funds were long Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), up from 156 funds in the last quarter. Chris Hohn’s TCI Fund Management held the biggest stake in the company in the December quarter, with a position worth $8.5 billion.
Here is what Farrer Wealth Advisors has to say about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Alphabet: We won’t waste much time trying to explain to our clients why Alphabet is such a phenomenal business, we believe that is quite self-evident. The better explanation is why we never bought Alphabet before. The reason was a personal bias we held based on three beliefs (which we now believe to be incorrect)
Growth in YouTube would stall as the increased ad-load would turn-off viewers (the double ad-load at the beginning of videos for example). Consumers will focus on discovery rather than search to purchase new items. For example – using Instagram/TikTok to decide what new clothes to buy instead of ‘googling’ for clothes. Other Bets: In general, we felt that capital spent on “Other Bets” has been a bit wasteful with the segment earning just around $3.1bn in revenue versus nearly $21bn in operating losses over the last five years…” (Click here to see the full text)
