Align Financial LLC Acquires New Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Align Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 492,513 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $154,551,000. Alphabet makes up 0.7% of Align Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 850.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,830,754 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 8.6% during the third 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 during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $362.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $361.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $330.47. The stock has a market cap 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.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 159,466 shares of company stock worth $6,957,543. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet News Roundup

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

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.