Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 39,806 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions more than doubled its Alphabet stake in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 39,806 shares and bringing its holdings to 77,447 shares worth about $24.3 million.
• Alphabet continues to get support from strong business momentum, especially in Google Cloud, which posted 63% revenue growth in Q1 and saw its backlog rise sharply, reinforcing optimism around AI and cloud expansion.
• Despite positive operating trends and upbeat analyst ratings, the stock faces some headwinds from legal and reputational risks, including an Indian court ruling on keyword ads and news of a Google engineer charged in an insider-trading case.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 105.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,447 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,806 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 29.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 226,369 shares of company stock worth $27,388,127. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $376.43 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $343.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $324.54.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Alphabet Company Profile

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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