Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter by 28.1%, adding 7,030 shares to hold 32,030 shares valued at about $10.05 million.
• Recent catalysts are mixed: positives include talks to let the U.S. Department of Defense use Gemini in classified settings, large institutional buying (SG Americas reportedly added ~9.8M GOOGL shares), a long‑term NiSource power deal and new AI product rollouts, while the EU Digital Markets Act, higher AI capex and ongoing legal/antitrust pressures pose material risks to margins.
• Analysts are mostly bullish with an average price target of $346.03; Alphabet beat the quarter with EPS $2.82 and revenue up 18% year‑over‑year, though insiders have been selling and the dividend yield is only 0.2%.

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,030 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,030 shares during the period. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 218 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Google is in talks with the U.S. Department of Defense to allow its Gemini models to be used in classified settings — a potential large, high‑visibility contract that would expand Alphabet’s government AI footprint and validate Gemini for sensitive enterprise use. Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: QuiverQuant flags a large institutional buying update: SG Americas reportedly added ~9.8M GOOGL shares in its 13F — a sign of meaningful institutional demand. Fund Update: SG Americas Securities, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet signed a long‑term energy supply deal (NiSource) to power a large Indiana data center — reduces power risk for hyperscale operations and supports cloud/AI capacity growth. NiSource signs long-term power deal with Alphabet, expands Amazon agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Google announced personalized image generation tied to Gemini and new features (Nano Banana) — tangible AI product rollouts that support user engagement and future monetization paths. Google will let users connect their photos to the Gemini chatbot and Nano Banana
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships (e.g., Thoma Bravo) and analyst/upside coverage highlight enterprise AI/Cyber expansion — supports longer‑term revenue diversification beyond ads. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish analyst and retail pieces reiterate Alphabet as a top long‑term growth/AI pick — helpful for sentiment but largely opinion‑driven. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Price forecasts from ML models and ranking lists (Finbold, Motley Fool) are circulating — they draw attention but are speculative and not a primary driver of fundamentals. Machine learning algorithm predicts Google stock price on April 30, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: The EU’s Digital Markets Act proposals would force Google to share detailed search/ranking/click data with rivals — a material regulatory risk that could weaken search defensibility and ad targeting advantages. Google should allow third-party search engines access to data, EU says
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is guiding toward higher AI capex for 2026 (data center, custom silicon, energy costs) — analysts warn this could compress margins and free cash flow in the near term. Alphabet Shares Rise 7% YTD: Buy, Sell, or Hold the GOOGL Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and antitrust pressures (Android/App distribution suits, advertiser arbitration) and some asset managers trimming positions add regulatory/legal downside and selling signals. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $346.03.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock worth $104,505,914. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $339.40 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.40 and a 52-week high of $350.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $305.98 and a 200-day moving average of $302.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

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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