Directional Asset Management Invests $8.96 Million in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Directional Asset Management purchased 28,558 shares of Alphabet (~$8.96 million), making GOOG about 7.9% of the firm's portfolio and its second-largest holding.
• Alphabet strongly beat Q1 expectations with EPS of $5.11 vs. $2.68 and revenue of $109.9B (up 21.8% YoY), spurring analyst upgrades and a MarketBeat consensus "Buy" rating with a $362.73 target.
• Alphabet raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 (annualized $0.88, ~0.2% yield), while insiders sold roughly 191,053 shares (~$58.8M) in the past three months and the company warned of higher AI-related capex that could weigh on near-term free cash flow.

Directional Asset Management purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,558 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,962,000. Alphabet accounts for about 7.9% of Directional Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 76.2% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,618,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $379.64 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.49 and a 1-year high of $384.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average is $312.44 and its 200-day moving average is $308.65.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 12.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 is currently 6.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.73.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were 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 directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,053 shares of company stock valued at $58,845,206. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and Cloud strength — Alphabet reported far‑above‑consensus EPS and revenue and disclosed a Google Cloud backlog near ~$468B, driving optimistic analyst revisions and momentum after the quarter. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades & higher price targets — Several firms raised targets and reiterated buy/outperform views (examples include JPMorgan, 24/7 Wall St. models projecting material upside, and a Citizens upgrade). These lifts support medium‑term upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large buyer activity — Mirae Asset reported a sizable addition to its GOOGL stake in recent 13F filings, signaling institutional demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic/geo-political relevance — Coverage notes Washington is increasingly focused on Google for national AI compute capacity, which could translate to long‑term government/business opportunities but also regulatory/oversight scrutiny. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo & mobility investments — Continued large funding and VC interest in Waymo highlight growth optionality beyond ads, but returns are long‑dated. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: AI ecosystem lift for semis and payments — Alphabet’s $190B AI buildout and agentic‑commerce themes boost broader AI infrastructure demand (beneficial for Google, but also benefits peers). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional trimming & profit‑taking — Some funds cut GOOG/GOOGL positions (State of Michigan reduced GOOGL; Manning & Napier and Yacktman trimmed stakes), consistent with profit‑taking after a big run. That pressure can cap near‑term gains. Read More. Read More.Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex guidance — Alphabet warned of a significant increase in 2027 capital spending tied to AI infrastructure, which can compress near‑term free cash flow and prompt some investors to take profits. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — A director sale was reported (small amount), a reminder some insiders are trimming exposure; typically immaterial alone but contributes to the day's negative tape. Read More.

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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