Strategic Blueprint LLC Sells 3,453 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Strategic Blueprint LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,621 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,453 shares during the quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $678,198,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $455,745,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,209,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.73.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $397.05 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $153.83 and a one year high of $398.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $317.19 and its 200 day moving average is $311.59. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Alphabet News Roundup

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

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.