Claris Financial LLC Buys New Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Claris Financial LLC initiated a new position in Alphabet, buying 7,925 shares valued at about $2.48 million in the fourth quarter. Alphabet now makes up 1.3% of the firm’s holdings and is its 15th-largest position.
• Institutional interest in Alphabet remains strong overall, with hedge funds and asset managers owning 27.26% of the stock. Several large investors, including Vanguard and JPMorgan, increased their holdings during the period.
• Wall Street sentiment is still constructive: Alphabet has a Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $376.78. The company also recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Claris Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,925 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,482,000. Alphabet comprises 1.3% of Claris Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in Alphabet by 850.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,551,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,830,754 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $376.78.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s broader AI and cloud story remains strong, with recent commentary highlighting solid earnings momentum, expanding Google Cloud backlog, and ongoing AI-related spending that could support future growth. AI Spending Is Strengthening the Alphabet (GOOGL) Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Google also announced a $1.5 billion investment to expand its Alabama data center campus, reinforcing its long-term infrastructure buildout for AI and cloud demand. Alphabet Announces $1.5 Billion Investment Across 2026 And 2027 To Expand Its Alabama Data Center Campus
• Positive Sentiment: Banking win: HSBC signed an AI deal with Google Cloud, adding another enterprise customer and supporting Alphabet’s cloud adoption narrative. HSBC signs AI deal with Google Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet director John L. Hennessy disclosed a sale of 1,050 shares. Insider selling can draw attention, but the transaction was relatively small versus Alphabet’s overall market value. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo recalled about 3,871 robotaxis after software issues caused some vehicles to enter closed freeway construction zones, renewing safety concerns around Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit. Waymo to recall over 3,800 robotaxis over risk of entering closed construction zones
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also lost Noam Shazeer, a key Gemini AI leader, to OpenAI, which may fuel concerns about competition for top AI talent. Google's Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: New U.K. rules requiring Google to be more transparent and fair in search rankings add another layer of regulatory pressure on its core search business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google's search services

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $367.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $363.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $330.81. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. 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 currently 6.71%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 160,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,344,604 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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