McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Takes $659,000 Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,101 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after buying an additional 15,830,754 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after buying an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s broader AI and cloud story remains strong, with recent commentary highlighting solid earnings momentum, expanding Google Cloud backlog, and ongoing AI-related spending that could support future growth. AI Spending Is Strengthening the Alphabet (GOOGL) Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Google also announced a $1.5 billion investment to expand its Alabama data center campus, reinforcing its long-term infrastructure buildout for AI and cloud demand. Alphabet Announces $1.5 Billion Investment Across 2026 And 2027 To Expand Its Alabama Data Center Campus
• Positive Sentiment: Banking win: HSBC signed an AI deal with Google Cloud, adding another enterprise customer and supporting Alphabet’s cloud adoption narrative. HSBC signs AI deal with Google Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet director John L. Hennessy disclosed a sale of 1,050 shares. Insider selling can draw attention, but the transaction was relatively small versus Alphabet’s overall market value. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo recalled about 3,871 robotaxis after software issues caused some vehicles to enter closed freeway construction zones, renewing safety concerns around Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit. Waymo to recall over 3,800 robotaxis over risk of entering closed construction zones
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also lost Noam Shazeer, a key Gemini AI leader, to OpenAI, which may fuel concerns about competition for top AI talent. Google’s Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: New U.K. rules requiring Google to be more transparent and fair in search rankings add another layer of regulatory pressure on its core search business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google’s search services

Alphabet Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $367.46 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $363.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $330.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company 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 firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued 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 was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.