Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. Buys Shares of 8,180 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,180 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,992,000. Alphabet accounts for 1.6% of Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Alphabet by 8.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,182,111 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 73.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,388,775,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,929 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 17,547.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $731,331,000 after purchasing an additional 4,099,366 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total transaction of $184,038.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,624 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,999.52. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.55, for a total transaction of $314,001.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,337,229.80. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,111,426 shares of company stock worth $118,810,470. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI is continuing to power revenue growth across Search and Google Cloud, supporting Alphabet’s longer‑term growth thesis and helping justify above‑consensus forecasts. Read More. and Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly constructive — multiple buy ratings and a median 6‑month price target well above the current level point to upside if growth continues to outpace expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting appears anomalous in the latest data (showing zero), so short‑interest signals are unclear this cycle; treat that data point with caution. (Data entry flagged 3/2).
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical traders are examining chart setups and momentum for timing trades around major indices and megacap tech; this can amplify intraday moves but is not a fundamental change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s long‑term bets (quantum computing, holdings in companies like AST SpaceMobile) reinforce its tech‑leadership narrative but have mixed near‑term return implications. Read More. and Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling and large institutional reductions have been reported (notably large trims by some asset managers), which can create selling pressure and signal near‑term profit taking. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capital expenditures are a key near‑term headwind — analysts and commentators flag a materially higher capex cycle (estimates up toward ~$200B in 2025), which could weigh on free cash flow and investor sentiment despite revenue growth. Read More. and Read More.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $306.36 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $350.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

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.