71 West Capital Partners Takes $11.47 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• 71 West Capital Partners opened a new position in Alphabet, buying 36,548 shares worth about $11.47 million in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on Alphabet, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $376.78, though a few firms recently downgraded the stock or trimmed their outlook.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

71 West Capital Partners purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 36,548 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,469,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its stake in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 1st. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Five 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 MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $376.78.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,466 shares of company stock worth $6,957,543. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Summary

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

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $371.10 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $360.69 and its 200-day moving average is $330.18. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-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 company has a market cap of $4.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share 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 $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.