Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,973,424 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 381,180 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.9% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $566,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 96.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 201,002 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,660,000 after purchasing an additional 98,921 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 427,725 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $122,697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,753 shares in the last quarter. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 397.6% in the 1st quarter. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC now owns 18,004 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,164,000 after acquiring an additional 14,386 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,418,059 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $693,644,000 after acquiring an additional 404,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FCA Corp TX lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 20,043 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,750,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $326.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $359.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $337.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $188.70 and a 12-month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share 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 was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. 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 4.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet reported a strong second quarter, with revenue up 24% year over year to $119.8 billion and earnings of $9.11 per share, well above estimates. Google Cloud growth, reported at approximately 82%, and continued strength in Search and YouTube reinforced the company’s AI monetization story. Alphabet Stock Is Gaining Monday: What’s Going On?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and portfolio managers largely continue to support Alphabet’s long-term outlook. Bullish arguments point to enterprise AI adoption, a roughly $514 billion Cloud backlog, improving Cloud margins and early evidence that AI features can strengthen Search and other services. Berkshire Hathaway’s substantial Alphabet position also provides a notable vote of confidence. Alphabet Q2 Strength Reinforces the Bullish Case
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube reached a multiyear agreement with NBCUniversal to include Peacock content for U.S. YouTube Premium subscribers beginning in 2027. The deal could improve subscription value, engagement and YouTube’s competitive position in streaming. NBCUniversal and YouTube Ink Peacock Deal

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.