North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $50.96 Million in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Alphabet, buying 162,381 shares worth about $50.96 million. The stake now represents 1.9% of its portfolio and is its 10th-largest holding.
• Alphabet continues to draw support from institutions and analysts, with its latest quarter beating expectations on both earnings and revenue. Analysts currently maintain a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $372.65.
• The company is also benefiting from AI and cloud momentum, including new AI-powered ad products tied to Gemini. At the same time, Alphabet faces a potential EU antitrust fine and some concern about user backlash to AI-driven search changes.

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 162,381 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $50,955,000. Alphabet comprises 1.9% of North Dakota State Investment Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 29.0% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google used its Marketing Live event to roll out AI-powered ad products tied to Gemini, including conversational ads, smarter Shopping Ads, and checkout inside AI search results — a sign that Alphabet is turning its AI push into new revenue opportunities. Google Wants Ads to Talk Back in AI Search
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Alphabet’s strong AI and cloud momentum, including Google Cloud expansion, Gemini adoption, and a bullish outlook that sees the company benefiting from continued search and advertising strength. What Google Search's New AI Mode Means for B2B Discovery
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and analyst chatter continued to frame Alphabet as a leading AI beneficiary, with some price targets and forecasts implying meaningful upside from current levels. Is Most-Watched Stock Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Worth Betting on Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated after Google I/O and the company’s AI overhaul, but some coverage warns that publishers could lose traffic as search becomes more AI-driven. Google Search AI Overhaul Leaves Publishers Bracing For ‘Google Zero'
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces fresh regulatory overhang after reports said the EU is preparing a record antitrust penalty over alleged search favoritism under the Digital Markets Act, which could pressure sentiment. EU plans to fine Google high triple-digit million euro sum, Handelsblatt reports
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines also noted user pushback against Google’s AI Search changes and reports of DuckDuckGo gaining installs, suggesting potential concern about how users will react to the new search experience. DuckDuckGo installs are up 30% as users reject being ‘force-fed' Google's AI Search

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $384.84 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company's fifty day moving average price is $338.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $322.49.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $372.65.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is currently 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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