Westwind Capital lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,860 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,834 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 7.6% of Westwind Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Westwind Capital’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $37,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Clear Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $481,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,056,729 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,900,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784,623 shares during the last quarter. GEM Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Diversified Trust Co. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 112,465 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,292,000 after purchasing an additional 7,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,601,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $345.71.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.
Alphabet Trading Down 3.1%
Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $280.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $314.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.73.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. 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 analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.
Alphabet News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Top analyst price targets and upgrades: Needham set a $400 target for GOOGL and the stock has seen dozens of upgrades and above‑consensus targets recently, supporting a view that the long‑term upside from AI and cloud adoption remains intact. New Analyst Forecast: $GOOGL Given $400 Price Target
- Positive Sentiment: AI/search and cloud traction — analysts note Gemini upgrades and rising engagement in AI‑powered Search plus large Google Cloud backlog, which underpin revenue growth and analyst EPS upgrades. This is a key bullish fundamental for investors focused on earnings durability. Alphabet Relies on AI to Boost Search Growth: More Upside Ahead?
- Positive Sentiment: Product/technology wins: DeepMind and Waymo milestones (robotics partnership, autonomous‑miles progress) show Alphabet expanding AI monetization avenues beyond ads — supportive for longer‑term revenue diversification. Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Rises as DeepMind Secures Major Robotics Deal with Agile Robots
- Neutral Sentiment: AI memory/compression research: Google published techniques that could dramatically cut memory needs for large models — bullish for Alphabet’s AI cost structure but disruptive to memory chip suppliers; markets are parsing net effects. A Google AI breakthrough is pressuring memory chip stocks from Samsung to Micron
- Neutral Sentiment: Corporate structure and ticker nuance: Ongoing reminders that GOOG vs GOOGL share classes differ can influence investor flows and option activity for those trading specific tickers. Useful context but not an immediate earnings driver. GOOG vs. GOOGL: Why 2 Classes of Alphabet Stock?
- Negative Sentiment: Landmark legal risk: A Los Angeles jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction case — a bellwether verdict that raises litigation/regulatory risk and headline pressure across big‑tech stocks. That verdict is the primary near‑term catalyst weighing on the shares. US jury verdicts against Meta, Google tee up fight over tech liability shield
- Negative Sentiment: Policy risk: A proposed congressional moratorium on new AI data center construction would directly affect Alphabet’s capital plans and cloud expansion if passed — a meaningful regulatory overhang for AI infrastructure investors to watch. Sanders and AOC Introduce Bill to Halt New AI Data Center Construction Nationwide
- Negative Sentiment: Large insider and institutional selling: Recent data show heavy insider sales and big institutional reductions (e.g., UBS, Norges Bank) even as others add positions — that mix increases near‑term supply pressure and headline risk. New Analyst Forecast: $GOOGL Given $400 Price Target (includes insider & institutional activity)
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.
Further Reading
Receive News & Ratings for Alphabet Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alphabet and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
