Hingham Institution for Savings Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Hingham Institution for Savings disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Alphabet, buying 148,950 shares valued at about $46.6 million. Alphabet is now its largest holding, making up roughly 38.2% of the portfolio.
• Other institutions also boosted or initiated stakes in Alphabet, and overall institutional ownership stands at 40.03%. This suggests continued broad investor confidence in the stock.
• Alphabet has seen a wave of positive catalysts, including higher price targets from analysts, strong AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, and a record yen bond sale to help fund AI infrastructure. The company also beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report and raised its dividend.

Hingham Institution for Savings acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 148,950 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $46,621,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 38.2% of Hingham Institution for Savings' portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 19,359 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $8,564,000. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown now owns 15,645 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,897,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $302,000. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,754 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,817,000 after purchasing an additional 17,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on Alphabet to $490 and kept a buy rating, while Oppenheimer lifted its target to $445 with an outperform rating, reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Loop Capital price target update Oppenheimer price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports pointed to Alphabet’s AI momentum ahead of Google I/O, including growing customer adoption of Gemini Flash and expectations that the event will showcase more AI innovation. Business Insider on Gemini Flash adoption BofA note on Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also raised forward earnings estimates for Alphabet, suggesting continued confidence in monetization and profit growth. Alphabet earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record-breaking yen bond sale, giving it fresh funding capacity to expand AI infrastructure while diversifying its financing sources. Yen bond issuance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Alphabet’s YouTube revenue, the company’s role in AI infrastructure, and Bill Ackman’s continued interest in mega-cap tech adds to the positive narrative, but these items are more supportive context than direct catalysts. YouTube revenue article Bill Ackman Mag 7 article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted Alphabet’s valuation and the broader crowding in AI/mega-cap tech, which could make the stock more vulnerable if sentiment cools. Valuation rerating article UBS crowding warning
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Google may cap new Gmail accounts at 5GB of free storage could be seen as a consumer-unfriendly move and a possible engagement risk if implemented broadly. Gmail storage cap article
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some concern around competition and execution in AI and adjacent hardware, including comparison pieces on Alphabet versus Nvidia and broader AI rivalry. AI competition article

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 157,953 shares of company stock worth $47,767,818. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Alphabet from $397.00 to $361.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $390.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. CICC Research boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $460.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $410.84.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $396.78 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $329.30 and its 200-day moving average is $317.61. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $403.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. 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 analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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