Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 17,613 shares and bringing its total holding to 197,538 shares valued at about $61.99 million.
• Alphabet is drawing attention for its aggressive AI and cloud expansion, including stronger Google Cloud partnerships and heavy capital spending plans, with some reports citing concerns about dilution and the cost of the buildout.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with earnings and revenue both beating estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share while analysts kept a consensus Buy rating on the stock.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,538 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,613 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.1% of Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $61,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to show strong AI momentum, including a reported expansion of its Google Cloud partnership with Lovable and reports that Apple may use Google Cloud to help power a revamped Siri. Those deals reinforce demand for Alphabet’s cloud and AI infrastructure. Lovable signs multi-year deal with Google Cloud to up usage 5x, source says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor confidence appears to be supported by major backers, with Berkshire Hathaway and ARK-related buying cited alongside strong analyst interest and price targets near the low-to-mid $400s. That institutional support is helping offset some of the recent weakness. Google Stock Lures in Both Cathie Wood and Berkshire Hathaway as Giant Investors Rush for a Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI spending plan and equity raise remain the biggest focus: the company increased its planned capital raise to about $84.75 billion to fund AI infrastructure, while also guiding capital expenditures as high as $190 billion. Investors see this as a sign of ambition and demand, but also of heavy near-term spending needs. Alphabet to raise $84.75 billion in upsized equity offering to fund AI ambitions
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also reported strong AI usage trends, including Gemini reaching 900 million users, which supports the long-term growth narrative even as the market debates whether AI returns justify the spending surge. Alphabet’s Gemini AI App Surges to 900 Million Users
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was pressured by Alphabet’s massive new equity financing, which raised dilution and return-on-capex questions as the company leans harder into AI buildout. Some investors are worried the AI infrastructure race is becoming too expensive. Google Stock Drops on New Data Center Buildout amid $190B Capex Headache
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI search business also faces new U.K. conduct requirements that let publishers opt out of AI summaries and training use, which could constrain the company’s search monetization and data access over time. UK regulator enforces new competition requirements for Google search
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of quiet layoffs in Google Cloud added to the cautious tone, suggesting Alphabet is still trimming costs even as it ramps spending elsewhere. Google is quietly laying off staff in its cloud division

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company's 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 owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.8%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $369.27 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $348.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $326.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. 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 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm 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%. The company's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.28 EPS 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

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.

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