Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Buys 21,985 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 237,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,985 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.8% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $74,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prudential PLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 839,689 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $263,494,000 after buying an additional 117,602 shares in the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 6,966 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Alphabet by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 45,820 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,378,000 after buying an additional 5,157 shares in the last quarter. Avise Financial Cooperative Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $807,000. Finally, Regency Capital Management Inc. DE acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $353.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $355.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $328.84.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding Gemini with new tools aimed at small businesses, which could help broaden adoption and monetize AI services. Google Debuts Gemini Features Geared to Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s support for Anthropic’s $35 billion AI infrastructure financing deal reinforces its central role in AI buildout and could boost cloud demand. Google Backs $35 Billion Anthropic AI Infrastructure Financing Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Gemini monthly users have doubled highlight strong product momentum and strengthen the long-term AI growth story. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Reports Doubling of Gemini App Monthly Users to 900 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s reported $920 million-per-month AI compute deal with SpaceX may support future growth, but it also signals rising infrastructure spending and AI competition costs. Google’s $920 Million-a-Month Deal Could Supercharge the SpaceX IPO
• Negative Sentiment: A fire at a third-party data center caused intermittent Google Cloud disruptions in India, which could raise reliability concerns for some customers. Fire at third-party facility disrupts Google Cloud network traffic in India
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied Google’s request for a new trial in the youth social media addiction case, leaving legal liability concerns in place. Meta and Google denied new trial after landmark verdict in youth social media addiction case

About Alphabet

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.