Blue Grotto Capital LLC Buys 87,913 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Blue Grotto Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 184.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,688 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,913 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.4% of Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $42,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $371.10 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $360.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $330.18.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC announced a multi-year partnership with Alphabet’s Google Cloud to expand its AI capabilities, a fresh validation of Google Cloud’s enterprise momentum and a potentially meaningful revenue tailwind. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet rolled out Android 17 and expanded Gemini features across Pixel devices and Wear OS, highlighting continued product innovation and deeper integration of AI into its consumer ecosystem. Android 17 launches with new multitasking tools as Google expands Gemini features
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet confirmed a $1.5 billion Alabama data center expansion, including community investment and infrastructure spending, signaling continued AI and cloud capacity buildout to support future demand. Google’s Samsung Talks Highlight TSMC Capacity Crunch
• Positive Sentiment: Google broadened Fitbit Air’s appeal by making it HSA and FSA eligible, which could improve adoption in digital health and wearables. Google Broadens Fitbit Air Appeal With HSA, FSA Eligibility
• Neutral Sentiment: Google also received positive media commentary around its AI strategy and enterprise adoption, but these were largely opinion pieces rather than new fundamental developments. Why GOOGL Stock May Have More Room to Run Even After a 100% Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI and quantum research efforts continued to draw attention, but the impact on near-term earnings is unclear. Google’s 20x Quantum Leap Threatens Ethereum’s Code as ETH Price Drops
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warned that the AI boom may be getting too speculative, with Howard Marks cautioning that investors may be overestimating what they own in AI stocks. Howard Marks: Investing in AI Stocks Is ‘Closer to Speculating’ Than Analysis

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 159,466 shares of company stock valued at $6,957,543 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.