Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. more than doubled its Alphabet position in the fourth quarter, buying 19,253 additional shares and bringing its stake to 38,442 shares worth about $12.49 million.
• Several other hedge funds also increased their holdings, and institutional investors now own 40.03% of Alphabet’s stock, signaling continued portfolio interest in the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Alphabet, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $413.13, while the company also reported strong quarterly results that beat earnings and revenue estimates.

Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 100.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,442 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,253 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 4.7% of Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,925 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Constant Guidance Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. Constant Guidance Financial LLC now owns 18,107 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,667,000 after purchasing an additional 8,611 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 246,019 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $77,004,000 after purchasing an additional 26,579 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 240,332 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $75,224,000 after purchasing an additional 8,981 shares during the period. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,474,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $393.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $364.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day moving average is $356.15 and its 200-day moving average is $329.17. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini app reportedly doubled its monthly users to 900 million, reinforcing the company’s momentum in consumer AI and supporting the case that its AI investments are translating into real usage.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive, with one report citing TD Cowen’s view that Alphabet could rise further by 2027, reflecting ongoing confidence in its earnings power and AI/cloud growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet was highlighted as a long-term value-and-growth story, with its search cash engine funding a growing cloud and AI franchise at what some analysts view as an attractive valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent convertible preferred offering and related financing coverage suggest it still has strong access to capital as it expands AI infrastructure, which can help fund growth initiatives.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s large AI spending plans remain a key debate, with some analysts warning that rising capex could weigh on near-term profitability even if it supports future growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position change, so it does not appear to be a major driver of the stock move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports linking Alphabet to major AI compute deals and supplier arrangements, including Google Cloud usage by other tech firms, reinforce its strategic importance in AI but are not directly tied to near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles focus on pressure from Alphabet’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending, including concerns that capex could compress margins and make investors more cautious about the stock’s high expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: One report specifically warned that Alphabet’s net profit margin deserves closer scrutiny after the stock’s strong run, suggesting investors may be increasingly sensitive to any slowdown in profitability.

About Alphabet

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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