Brighton Jones LLC Buys 6,951 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Brighton Jones LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 4.0% in the first quarter, buying 6,951 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 181,749 shares worth about $52.1 million.
• Alphabet continues to draw positive attention from major business developments, including Waymo’s plan to expand driverless rides to four more cities and Google’s AI tools being used to debunk a deepfake hoax.
• Alphabet reported strong recent financial results and remains favored by analysts, beating earnings and revenue estimates last quarter while carrying a consensus Wall Street rating of “Buy” with an average price target of $376.19.

Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 181,749 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,951 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.2% of Brighton Jones LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $52,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit, said it plans to expand driverless rides to four more major cities this year, a sign that Alphabet’s self-driving business is scaling beyond its current markets. Waymo Plans to Expand Driverless Cars to 4 More Major Cities This Year
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s SynthID deepfake-detection system was used to debunk a high-profile AI-generated hoax image, highlighting the practical value of Alphabet’s AI safety tools. Google's deepfake detector system used to debunk McConnell hoax pic
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles continued to frame Alphabet as a beneficiary of the AI infrastructure boom, with Google Cloud and AI demand seen as supporting revenue growth and long-term earnings power. 3 Top-Ranked Stocks Riding on Massive AI Infrastructure Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary has also remained constructive after strong recent earnings, with one analysis arguing Alphabet is on track to sustain “Rule of 40” type growth and healthy margins. Alphabet Stock: Locking In Long-Term Rule Of 40 Supremacy
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s reported $10 billion private placement in Alphabet continued to draw attention and may support confidence in GOOG’s long-term value. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Successor, Greg Abel, Just Bought More of This Magnificent Tech Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market recap and valuation pieces discussed Alphabet alongside other mega-cap AI leaders, but these were mostly commentary rather than new business developments. Three Most Valuable Companies at $13 Trillion: Buy, Sell, or Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Trading-data articles highlighted recent weakness in GOOG, including heavier-than-broad-market selling and reports of significant insider selling over the past six months, which can weigh on sentiment. GOOGL stock is down 3% today. Here's what we see in our data.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven 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 an average price target of $376.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $358.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $369.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $334.74. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $173.88 and a 12 month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio 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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