Global Retirement Partners LLC Buys 28,532 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 28,532 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 105,885 shares valued at about $33.2 million.
• Recent headlines around Alphabet are largely positive, especially Google Cloud, which reported strong Q1 growth with revenue up 63% and backlog rising to $462 billion. News on enterprise AI partnerships and Waymo’s robotaxi plans also highlights Alphabet’s expanding non-search businesses.
• Alphabet faces some risks, including an Indian court ruling that could increase legal exposure for keyword ads, while insiders have also been net sellers recently. Even so, analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus Buy rating and a target price of $372.65.

Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,885 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,532 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $33,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 84,553 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 431,349 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $105,055,000 after purchasing an additional 42,639 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.65.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $376.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day moving average is $343.28 and its 200 day moving average is $324.30. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors 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 yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 6.41%.

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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