North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,385 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,221 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.7% of North Star Investment Management Corp.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $678,198,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $455,745,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director owned 3,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,187,638.65. This represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Trending Headlines about Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent earnings strength continues to drive optimism, with analysts raising price targets and earnings estimates after a strong Q1 beat that showed faster growth in Search, Cloud, and YouTube. Investors are also reacting to broad bullish coverage and high-profile holders adding to GOOG exposure.
- Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding its AI monetization tools, unveiling AI-powered Search and Shopping bidding/budgeting features that could make ad spending more efficient and support ad revenue growth. Article: Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also leaning into AI and consumer hardware, with new Fitbit Air and AI health-coach launches, plus continued work on smart glasses and broader agentic AI products. These developments reinforce the view that Google is becoming a major AI platform across ads, devices, and subscriptions.
- Neutral Sentiment: Several reports point to continued institutional interest and analyst support, including fund additions and upgraded target prices, but these are largely reinforcement signals rather than immediate catalysts.
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory overhang remains a concern after Google was given more time to address EU antitrust issues, and a new UK lawsuit over online display ads adds another legal challenge. Article: Google has bit more time to address concerns in EU investigation, EU Commission says
- Negative Sentiment: Google also settled a racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million, which removes some uncertainty but highlights ongoing reputational and legal risks tied to employment practices. Article: Google settles racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of GOOG stock opened at $397.05 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.83 and a 52-week high of $398.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $317.19 and a 200-day moving average of $311.59.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.41%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.73.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on GOOG
About Alphabet
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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