North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases 3,034 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,182 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.0% of North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $49,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total value of $27,337.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,914 shares in the company, valued at $6,305,738.46. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s major investment: Berkshire increased its Alphabet position by 83%, adding roughly 48 million shares worth about $17 billion. Warren Buffett said he initiated the investment, providing a high-profile endorsement of Alphabet’s valuation, search resilience and rapidly growing Google Cloud business. Berkshire Hathaway Boosted Its Alphabet Stake 83%
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud expansion: Analysts and investors continue to highlight Alphabet’s strong AI position, including Gemini adoption, custom TPU potential and Google Cloud growth. Alphabet is also reportedly hosting Anthropic workloads, linking the company to demand for frontier AI infrastructure. Alphabet External TPU Sales Are A Likely Game Changer
• Positive Sentiment: Spirit Airlines data acquisition: Google won a $10 million bankruptcy auction for anonymized Spirit Airlines business records and software to support product development and AI training. The deal is small financially but illustrates Alphabet’s efforts to secure specialized datasets, with customer personal information reportedly excluded. Google to buy Spirit Airlines business data for $10 million
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio signals are divided: Several major funds, including David Tepper and other prominent managers, reported Alphabet purchases, but Bill Ackman, Viking Global and Altarock Partners also reduced or exited positions. Because 13F filings are backward-looking, they may influence sentiment without signaling current trading decisions. Hedge Funds Are Divided on MSFT and GOOGL
• Negative Sentiment: Investor-law-firm investigation: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds headline and litigation risk. Pomerantz Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Higher AI spending and debt: Alphabet is increasing bond issuance to fund data centers and AI infrastructure. The investment may support long-term growth, but heavier borrowing, supply commitments and concerns about an eventual AI-capex slowdown could pressure near-term sentiment. AI’s Half-Trillion-Dollar Borrowing Binge
• Negative Sentiment: China manufacturing exit: Google plans to complete its China manufacturing withdrawal by 2027, shifting Pixel production to Vietnam and India. The move may reduce geopolitical exposure but could create transition costs and supply-chain uncertainty. Alphabet Stock Dips as Google Plans China Manufacturing Exit

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.55.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $341.28 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.46 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $351.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $339.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

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.