North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $67.37 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

North Star Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 214,685 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,353 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.7% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $67,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit is rolling out its new “Ojai” robotaxi to select riders in major U.S. cities, with a roomier design, lower manufacturing costs, and a removable steering wheel — all signs that the autonomous vehicle business may become more scalable and economically viable. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a Google Cloud partnership with EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing cloud and AI as key growth drivers for the company beyond advertising. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and several market notes described Alphabet as a “crucial position” and suggested investors still may be underestimating Waymo’s value, which can help sentiment but does not change fundamentals by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also interest in Alphabet’s AI-search changes and new Gemini-powered ad formats, which could improve monetization over time, but some observers say the overhaul is still controversial and early reactions are mixed. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Federal prosecutors charged a Google software engineer with using confidential information to make about $1.2 million on Polymarket bets, creating unwanted reputational risk for Alphabet and adding headlines that may pressure sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent AI Search overhaul is also drawing criticism, with some users and rival search services benefiting as concerns grow that Google’s changes could hurt traffic patterns and user satisfaction. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.65.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $386.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $341.87 and a 200 day moving average of $323.94. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share 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%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

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.