Legato Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,681 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,681 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $372.58 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $344.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $325.11. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for 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%.Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s planned $10 billion investment in Alphabet adds a major vote of confidence and helps validate the company’s AI expansion strategy. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary said Google is a clear beneficiary as AI search grows, supporting the view that Alphabet can defend and extend its core search franchise even as AI competition intensifies. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,” Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s ties to high-profile private AI names like Anthropic and SpaceX could give investors additional indirect exposure ahead of possible future IPOs, though this is more of a longer-term optionality story. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs: What That Means For Investors
• Negative Sentiment: The planned $80 billion capital raise may weigh on sentiment because it implies substantial spending needs and potential dilution, even if it strengthens Alphabet’s AI capacity. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, potentially limiting Google’s access to some government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.50.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 225,516 shares of company stock worth $27,142,399 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.