Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Bought by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,737 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,508 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.3% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,749,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,203 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,935,671,000 after acquiring an additional 223,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,971,769,000 after acquiring an additional 539,679 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,908,391. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.65.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $376.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $343.28 and a 200 day moving average of $324.30.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. 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. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

Alphabet 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.