Dougherty & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Dougherty & Associates LLC initiated a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter, buying 5,004 shares valued at about $1.57 million. The stake represents 1.4% of the firm’s holdings and its 21st largest position.
• Alphabet continues to attract broad institutional interest, with large investors like Vanguard, JPMorgan, and others increasing their holdings. Hedge funds and other institutions now own 27.26% of the company.
• Alphabet recently reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings expectations with $5.11 EPS versus the expected $2.68 and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Dougherty & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,004 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,571,000. Alphabet makes up 1.4% of Dougherty & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,971,769,000 after purchasing an additional 539,679 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $372.65.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $384.84 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. 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 fifty day moving average price is $338.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $322.49.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google used its Marketing Live event to roll out AI-powered ad products tied to Gemini, including conversational ads, smarter Shopping Ads, and checkout inside AI search results — a sign that Alphabet is turning its AI push into new revenue opportunities. Google Wants Ads to Talk Back in AI Search
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Alphabet’s strong AI and cloud momentum, including Google Cloud expansion, Gemini adoption, and a bullish outlook that sees the company benefiting from continued search and advertising strength. What Google Search's New AI Mode Means for B2B Discovery
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and analyst chatter continued to frame Alphabet as a leading AI beneficiary, with some price targets and forecasts implying meaningful upside from current levels. Is Most-Watched Stock Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Worth Betting on Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated after Google I/O and the company’s AI overhaul, but some coverage warns that publishers could lose traffic as search becomes more AI-driven. Google Search AI Overhaul Leaves Publishers Bracing For ‘Google Zero'
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces fresh regulatory overhang after reports said the EU is preparing a record antitrust penalty over alleged search favoritism under the Digital Markets Act, which could pressure sentiment. EU plans to fine Google high triple-digit million euro sum, Handelsblatt reports
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines also noted user pushback against Google’s AI Search changes and reports of DuckDuckGo gaining installs, suggesting potential concern about how users will react to the new search experience. DuckDuckGo installs are up 30% as users reject being ‘force-fed' Google's AI Search

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.

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.