Vest Financial LLC Purchases 3,369 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,057 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,369 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management raised its position in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 4,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent earnings strength continues to drive optimism, with analysts raising price targets and earnings estimates after a strong Q1 beat that showed faster growth in Search, Cloud, and YouTube. Investors are also reacting to broad bullish coverage and high-profile holders adding to GOOG exposure.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding its AI monetization tools, unveiling AI-powered Search and Shopping bidding/budgeting features that could make ad spending more efficient and support ad revenue growth. Article: Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is also leaning into AI and consumer hardware, with new Fitbit Air and AI health-coach launches, plus continued work on smart glasses and broader agentic AI products. These developments reinforce the view that Google is becoming a major AI platform across ads, devices, and subscriptions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports point to continued institutional interest and analyst support, including fund additions and upgraded target prices, but these are largely reinforcement signals rather than immediate catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory overhang remains a concern after Google was given more time to address EU antitrust issues, and a new UK lawsuit over online display ads adds another legal challenge. Article: Google has bit more time to address concerns in EU investigation, EU Commission says
• Negative Sentiment: Google also settled a racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million, which removes some uncertainty but highlights ongoing reputational and legal risks tied to employment practices. Article: Google settles racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $397.05 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.83 and a 12-month high of $398.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $317.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.73.

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.