Northbridge Financial Group LLC Makes New $6.28 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Northbridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 20,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,282,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.8% of Northbridge Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co raised its position in Alphabet by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $407.86.

Alphabet Trading Down 3.0%

GOOGL stock opened at $388.64 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $4.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.71. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.16 and a 52 week high of $402.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around its AI business, with multiple reports saying the company has nearly caught Nvidia in market value and that investors are betting on Google’s strength across the full AI stack, from cloud infrastructure to models and applications. Alphabet’s 160% rally in a year reflects value of owning ‘most of the stack’ in AI
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also highlighted AI momentum by expanding Google Finance in Europe and launching new AI-focused features, reinforcing the view that the company is turning product innovation into monetization opportunities. Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment improved after reports that Alphabet is funding AI infrastructure with debt sales, including its first yen bond offering, which suggests management remains confident enough to keep spending aggressively on growth. Alphabet considers first yen bond sale to fund AI goals
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s cybersecurity team said it thwarted an AI-enabled hacking attempt, which underscores the company’s security capabilities but also highlights rising threats across the sector. Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, is recalling nearly 3,800 robotaxis over a software issue that could send vehicles onto flooded roads, adding regulatory and execution risk around autonomous driving. Waymo to recall nearly 3,800 robotaxis over self-driving software issue
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faces a $135 million Android data settlement headline, which revives privacy and legal overhangs even if the financial impact is manageable relative to the company’s size. Android Owners: You Could Get Part of Google’s $135 Million Data Settlement

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.