McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Invests $1.35 Million in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 4,313 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,350,000. Alphabet makes up 1.2% of McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,534,239,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,338,397,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in Alphabet by 855.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,546,413,000 after purchasing an additional 13,004,828 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $368.48 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $366.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.69. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.00 and a 1-year high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Mizuho raised their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Phillip Securities upped their target price on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s core AI and cloud story got another boost after reports highlighted strong earnings momentum and a rapidly expanding Google Cloud backlog, reinforcing the view that business demand remains healthy. Alphabet Just Beat Earnings by 94% and Doubled Its Cloud Backlog to $460 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it nearly tripled its Alphabet stake, a notable vote of confidence from a major value investor that may support sentiment. Warren Buffett Just Tripled Down on the Stock Bill Ackman Is Selling
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC announced a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to expand AI usage, adding another large enterprise customer to Alphabet’s cloud growth narrative. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI-related plans, including an “AI Control Roadmap” to address rogue AI agents, underscoring continued investment and leadership in AI infrastructure and safety. Google Devises Battle Plan to Combat Rogue AI Agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s AI talent war remains a focus after Noam Shazeer, a co-lead on Gemini, reportedly left for OpenAI, which may raise questions about retention but does not change the core business overnight. Google’s Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer to join OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo issued a recall of about 3,900 robotaxis after software issues caused vehicles to enter highway construction zones, adding regulatory and execution risk to Alphabet’s self-driving unit. Waymo to recall over 3,800 robotaxis over risk of entering closed construction zones
• Negative Sentiment: A director sold a meaningful block of shares, which can modestly weigh on sentiment even though insider sales are not always a bearish signal. SEC filing for John L. Hennessy sale

Alphabet Company Profile

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.