Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Buys 7,778 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,089,399 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,778 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.6% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $312,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett said he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of Alphabet, giving the stock a high-profile vote of confidence and reinforcing the view that GOOG remains attractive ahead of earnings. Warren Buffett tells CNBC he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market articles said Alphabet’s AI-driven search, cloud growth, and improving earnings outlook could support another results beat, keeping investor sentiment constructive. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s large clean-power purchase and ongoing AI infrastructure investment signal continued support for long-term cloud and AI expansion, which investors may view as a strength. Google’s biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAI’s unpermitted gas power plant
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet continues to receive favorable brokerage and valuation commentary, with some coverage highlighting strong AI monetization but noting the stock is already pricing in a lot of optimism. GOOGL Stock: Do AI Growth Drivers Justify the Premium Valuation?
• Negative Sentiment: The EU is preparing new fines against Google, adding to regulatory overhang and reminding investors that antitrust risk remains a key issue for the stock. EU Prepares to Fine Google as Part of Increased Big Tech Enforcement
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faced fresh scrutiny from Swiss regulators and new AI-related criticism and lawsuits, which could pressure sentiment around its core search and AI businesses. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $416.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $370.21 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $368.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $336.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.50 and a 1 year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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.