1,157,043 Shares in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Purchased by OP Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• OP Asset Management Ltd disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Alphabet, buying 1,157,043 shares valued at about $331.9 million. Alphabet now accounts for roughly 3.3% of the firm’s holdings and is its sixth-largest position.
• Institutional interest in GOOG remains broad, with several funds increasing their positions and about 27.26% of the stock owned by institutions and hedge funds. At the same time, analysts remain bullish, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $376.78.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, posting $5.11 EPS on $109.9 billion in revenue, both above expectations, while revenue rose 21.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,157,043 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $331,909,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 3.3% of OP Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 88,884 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $25,498,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 33.6% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 87,462 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $25,089,000 after buying an additional 21,982 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 33.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,950,794 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,567,625,000 after buying an additional 2,240,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,155 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,523 shares of company stock valued at $4,863,526. 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’s advertising business is still growing, with one analyst note pointing to rising ad revenues and AI-driven ad tools as a source of further upside. Alphabet Benefits From Rising Advertising Revenues: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said the recent sell-off in big tech and AI names looks more like a buying opportunity than a broken AI thesis, and included Alphabet among the core beneficiaries of the AI trend. Wedbush brushes off tech sell-off as buying chance in multi-year AI bull run
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to get bullish long-term commentary from investors who see it as a strong growth and AI compounder, helped by Google Cloud momentum and AI monetization potential. Alphabet: Still A Top-Tier AI Compounder
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a notable index inclusion but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Alphabet Set to Join Dow Jones Industrial Average as Verizon Exits Index (GOOG)
• Neutral Sentiment: A new bill would study data-center energy and water measurement standards, which could eventually affect Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure, but it does not create immediate regulation. New Bill: Representative Suhas Subramanyam introduces H.R. 9372: Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is centered on Google’s AI talent exodus, with reports of more researchers leaving for rivals like Anthropic, raising worries about execution in Gemini and broader AI competitiveness. Alphabet Shares Fall After Report on Further AI Talent Departures
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Google is taking a tougher stance with publishers to secure broader content access for AI training, while publishers warn that traffic declines are already hurting them, adding to regulatory and relationship risk. Google looks to bleed publishers with new AI partnerships that would cull their content
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles this week continued to highlight weakness in the “all-in on AI” trade and pressure on Alphabet shares tied to AI talent losses and competitive fears. Ranking the FAANG Stocks From Most to Least Attractive, Based on Future Cash Flow

Alphabet Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of GOOG opened at $334.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.71 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $366.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

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.

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