Entrust Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000. Alphabet makes up 0.4% of Entrust Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,381,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,345,000 after buying an additional 84,553 shares during the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,920,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 11.0% in the third quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 431,349 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $105,055,000 after acquiring an additional 42,639 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are encouraged by Alphabet’s push to monetize AI in Search, including Gemini-powered ad formats and conversational ads that could expand search advertising revenue. Google Wants Ads to Talk Back in AI Search
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also seeing bullish attention around its AI stack and cloud business, with coverage highlighting TPUs, AI compute services, and product momentum that could support long-term growth. Alphabet Ties AI Hardware Cloud And Ads As EU Scrutiny Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and market commentary remains constructive, with multiple reports pointing to strong prior earnings, elevated price targets, and continued investor interest in GOOG. GOOGL’s Innovative Ad Format to Boost Search Growth: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: News that a Google engineer was charged with insider trading on Polymarket is negative for headlines, but it appears to be an individual legal issue rather than a companywide operational problem. Google Employee Charged With Insider Trading on Polymarket
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitor and user-behavior articles suggest some users are testing alternatives like DuckDuckGo after Google’s AI Search overhaul, highlighting possible search-share pressure, though the long-term impact is still unclear. Some users may be giving Google’s AI search the bird, and DuckDuckGo is benefiting
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces mounting regulatory risk, including reports that the EU may issue a record fine over alleged search monopoly practices, which could weigh on sentiment. Market Chatter: Alphabet’s Google Nears Record European Union Fine Over Alleged Search Monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Several stories also say Google’s AI search redesign is pushing some users and marketers to rethink reliance on Google, which raises concern that AI changes could disrupt the traditional search ad model. OpenAI is building a new kind of ad machine. Early data suggests Google should worry.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $384.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $340.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.65.

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.