7,062 Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Acquired by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management increased its Alphabet stake by 7,062 shares, or 0.6%, to 1.23 million shares valued at approximately $422.7 million. Alphabet now represents 5% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors own about 40.03% of Alphabet, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $425.60.
• Alphabet’s AI and Google Cloud expansion support the bullish outlook, but rising AI infrastructure spending, regulatory scrutiny, and a proposed £1 billion U.K. Play Store claim remain key risks.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,228,522 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,062 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 5.0% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $422,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $85,403,303,000 after purchasing an additional 12,718,127 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 28,950.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,291,926 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,671,986,000 after buying an additional 9,259,940 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Alphabet by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,040,373 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,900,078,000 after buying an additional 8,112,680 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 127.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,677,886 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,655,178,000 after buying an additional 6,554,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,737,125 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,299,721,000 after acquiring an additional 4,313,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled Gemini 4 Argon, an enterprise-focused AI model designed to perform complex, multistep work in software engineering, cybersecurity, finance, and legal services. A stronger product could support Google Cloud growth, subscriptions, and competitive positioning against OpenAI and Anthropic. Tech Bytes: Google unveils Gemini 4 Argon as AI race shifts to autonomous work
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Google Cloud’s rapid expansion, a substantial backlog, and Alphabet’s ability to monetize AI through cloud contracts, advertising, and paid subscriptions. Alphabet’s operating income reportedly rose 30% year over year in both first-half 2026 quarters, supporting the bullish case for continued earnings growth. Prediction: Alphabet's Profit Growth Carries It to $5 Trillion Before 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s investment in Anthropic could benefit shareholders if a potential IPO provides liquidity or increases Anthropic’s ability to purchase computing capacity, potentially benefiting Google Cloud and other AI infrastructure suppliers. 4 Major Winners From an Anthropic IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet executives are scheduled to testify at a New York City Council hearing on AI risks. The event may increase visibility for Google’s AI efforts, but could also foreshadow additional compliance requirements. AI risks hearing
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s capital expenditures reportedly doubled year over year to $44.92 billion in the second quarter, raising concerns that AI infrastructure spending could pressure free cash flow and shareholder returns before the investments generate sufficient profits. Alphabet Reported Negative Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a proposed £1 billion U.K. consumer claim alleging that Play Store commissions of up to 30% violate competition law. An adverse outcome could create financial liability and add to Alphabet’s broader regulatory burden. Google faces UK Play Store legal claim

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $2.64 on Monday, reaching $346.14. 8,220,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,831,436. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $235.84 and a one year high of $408.61. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $344.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $348.00. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th were paid 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 was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 441,399 shares of company stock worth $8,677,053 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and internet services company best known as the parent company of Google. Its primary business, Google Services, includes online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a range of hardware and subscription products.

Alphabet also operates Google Cloud, which provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, productivity software, and artificial intelligence services to businesses, governments, and other organizations.

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