Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,418,059 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 404,631 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.2% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $693,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,596,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,060,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $106,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,006 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,868 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $319.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $360.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

About Alphabet

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.