Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Legacy Financial Advisors boosted its Alphabet stake by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,173 more shares and bringing its total to 28,936 shares worth about $9.08 million.
• Alphabet reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $5.11 EPS versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21, while analysts largely remain bullish with an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $372.65.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,936 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.3% of Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,438.5% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $379.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.25. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The business's 50 day moving average is $335.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.81.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says Alphabet was one of the biggest winners among the Mag 7 this earnings season, helped by accelerating Google Cloud sales and broader AI-driven strength. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Alphabet’s new AI ad formats and shopping tools as potential catalysts for stronger search monetization, higher conversion rates, and increased ad spending. Alphabet's new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a large $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri, reinforcing investor confidence in its cloud and AI buildout. Google Deepens Missouri Roots with New Data Center, Energy, and Community Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI search and agent features at I/O, which could improve engagement over time, but the rollout also raised concerns about complexity and possible disruption to the traditional search experience. You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo temporarily paused some robotaxi and freeway services after safety issues in flooded roads and construction zones; while this is not core to Alphabet’s profits, it adds execution risk and negative headlines. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet has appealed the U.S. search-monopoly ruling, keeping antitrust overhang and potential remedies in focus for investors. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $372.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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