Trajan Wealth LLC Acquires 15,569 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 11.4% in Q4, buying 15,569 more shares and bringing its total holding to 151,653 shares valued at about $47.6 million.
• Alphabet’s recent earnings and business momentum were strong, with Q1 EPS of $5.11 beating estimates and revenue rising 21.8% year over year to $109.9 billion. Google Cloud stood out as a key growth driver, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion and backlog climbing to $462 billion.
• Despite bullish analyst and investor sentiment, Alphabet faces some headwinds: insiders sold shares over the past three months, and news included a potential legal risk in India over keyword ads plus a reputational overhang from a Google engineer’s insider-trading case.

Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,653 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,569 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.0% of Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $47,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th 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 period. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $372.65.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $376.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $343.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $324.30. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during 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%.Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

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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