Castle Hook Partners LP Raises Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Castle Hook Partners LP increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3,446.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 634,752 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 616,855 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.8% of Castle Hook Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Castle Hook Partners LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $199,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Claro Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 26,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,204,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Asset One Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $7,459,000. Aureus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 81,106 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,451,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 117,784 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,961,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Alphabet by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. Basso Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,179 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $362.10 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $361.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.47.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 159,466 shares of company stock worth $6,957,543. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition watchdog set new requirements for Google Search, demanding greater transparency in ranking results and fairer treatment for businesses, adding to global regulatory scrutiny that could pressure Alphabet’s core search business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google’s search services
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains cautious, with concerns about Alphabet’s high AI spending, heavy capital expenditures, competition, and valuation limiting enthusiasm despite strong growth prospects. AI Spending Is Strengthening the Alphabet (GOOGL) Bull Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet showcased more AI momentum at the G7, where Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis backed a U.S.-led AI coalition, reinforcing the company’s influence in frontier AI policy and investment discussions. CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind call for U.S.-led AI coalition in meeting at G7
• Neutral Sentiment: Google also launched Android 17 and a new Gemini-focused smart speaker, highlighting ongoing product innovation that could support long-term ecosystem growth but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to grow AI usage, a sign that Alphabet’s cloud and enterprise AI business continues to gain traction with major customers. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also expanding its physical and digital footprint, including a $1.5 billion Alabama data center investment and new Google-supported initiatives, which support the company’s AI infrastructure buildout. Alphabet (GOOGL) to Spend $1.5 Billion Expanding Alabama Data Center

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.