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

North Dakota State Investment Board grew its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 140,182 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.0% of North Dakota State Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $49,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $341.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $351.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $339.70. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.46 and a twelve month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Key Alphabet News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $379.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

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.