Burling Wealth Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Burling Wealth Partners LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 55,730 shares valued at about $17.5 million. Alphabet is now its 8th largest position and represents roughly 2.7% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Alphabet carrying a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $372.65. Recent reports included one downgrade to Hold, but the majority of analysts still rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy.
• Alphabet’s latest earnings showed strong performance, with EPS of $5.11 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Burling Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,730 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,636 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.7% of Burling Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Burling Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $372.65.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

GOOG stock opened at $376.43 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $343.28 and its 200 day moving average is $324.30. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase 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.

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.