North Star Investment Management Corp. Has $11.42 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,221 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 0.7% of North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,935,671,000 after buying an additional 223,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,971,769,000 after purchasing an additional 539,679 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $397.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.59. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.83 and a twelve month high of $398.37.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent earnings strength continues to drive optimism, with analysts raising price targets and earnings estimates after a strong Q1 beat that showed faster growth in Search, Cloud, and YouTube. Investors are also reacting to broad bullish coverage and high-profile holders adding to GOOG exposure.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding its AI monetization tools, unveiling AI-powered Search and Shopping bidding/budgeting features that could make ad spending more efficient and support ad revenue growth. Article: Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also leaning into AI and consumer hardware, with new Fitbit Air and AI health-coach launches, plus continued work on smart glasses and broader agentic AI products. These developments reinforce the view that Google is becoming a major AI platform across ads, devices, and subscriptions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports point to continued institutional interest and analyst support, including fund additions and upgraded target prices, but these are largely reinforcement signals rather than immediate catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory overhang remains a concern after Google was given more time to address EU antitrust issues, and a new UK lawsuit over online display ads adds another legal challenge. Article: Google has bit more time to address concerns in EU investigation, EU Commission says
• Negative Sentiment: Google also settled a racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million, which removes some uncertainty but highlights ongoing reputational and legal risks tied to employment practices. Article: Google settles racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $362.73.

Alphabet 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.