Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is IFP Advisors Inc’s 6th Largest Position

IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 116.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 192,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 103,322 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.4% of IFP Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $60,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud delivered a standout Q1 result, with revenue up 63% to $20 billion, margin reaching 32.9%, and backlog rising to $462 billion. That reinforces Alphabet’s growing second engine beyond search and supports the bull case for further upside. GOOGL Rides on Surging Google Cloud Demand: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is also getting validation from new enterprise partnerships, including EQT’s rollout to help more than 300 portfolio companies adopt AI using Google Cloud tools. Private equity firm EQT partners with Google Cloud for AI rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo news continues to suggest Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business may be undervalued, with the new Ojai robotaxi designed to lower fleet costs and expand capacity. That strengthens the long-term optionality in Alphabet’s non-advertising businesses. Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer was supportive, calling Alphabet a “crucial position” and saying “there’s a lot to like here,” which can help reinforce bullish sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer on Alphabet: “There’s a Lot to Like Here”
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were also mentioned in analyst-style and market commentary framing Alphabet as a core AI and cloud beneficiary, but these pieces were largely reiterations rather than new catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ruling on keyword ads could increase trademark and legal risk for Google’s search advertising business, raising concerns about a core profit driver. Indian court ruling on Google keyword ads could reshape online advertising
• Negative Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged in a $1.2 million Polymarket insider-trading case may create a modest reputational overhang, even though it is not a direct business or financial issue for Alphabet. US charges Google engineer with insider trading on Polymarket

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Six equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.65.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $376.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $343.28 and a 200 day moving average of $324.30. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

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.