Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Lazard Asset Management LLC's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its Alphabet position by 19.7% in the first quarter, holding 3.44 million shares worth approximately $987.1 million. Alphabet now represents about 1.6% of Lazard’s portfolio and is its 10th-largest holding.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and earnings per share of $9.11, well above analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus with an average price target of $410.09.
• Investors remain focused on Alphabet’s heavy AI spending and legal exposure. Planned 2026 capital expenditures of roughly $195 billion–$205 billion are pressuring free cash flow, while a $1 billion European Digital Markets Act fine could lead to additional private damages claims.

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,441,182 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 565,168 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.6% of Lazard Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $987,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $330,886,000 after acquiring an additional 806,681 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 285,049 shares of company stock valued at $10,051,351. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals are supporting the rebound. Alphabet’s latest quarter featured 24.2% revenue growth, an EPS beat, and an 82% year-over-year increase in Google Cloud revenue. Analysts and investors argue that AI adoption, Search resilience, YouTube growth, and improving cloud profitability can eventually justify the company’s large infrastructure investments. Alphabet: Buy The Capex-Caused Decline
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional backing remains constructive. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy,” while KeyCorp modestly raised its FY2028 EPS estimate. Asset Management One also added approximately 117,000 GOOGL shares, signaling continued institutional confidence despite recent volatility. Alphabet upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube expanded its monetization ecosystem. A multiyear agreement will bring Peacock content, including sports and entertainment programming, to YouTube Premium subscribers in the United States, potentially strengthening engagement and subscription value. YouTube and Peacock deal
• Neutral Sentiment: AI remains both the growth engine and the central debate. More than 1,100 technology employees urged governments to establish stronger AI-safety rules. The issue could increase compliance costs, but coordinated regulation may also benefit large, well-funded platforms such as Google over smaller competitors. AI safety plan
• Negative Sentiment: Capital-spending concerns continue to cap enthusiasm. Alphabet’s roughly $195 billion–$205 billion 2026 capex forecast has pushed free cash flow negative and raised questions about returns on AI infrastructure. Investors are looking for evidence that Cloud growth and AI monetization will outpace the spending burden.
• Negative Sentiment: European legal risks are escalating. Following a $1 billion Digital Markets Act fine, rivals could pursue as much as $10 billion in private damages claims, creating potential financial and operational pressure on Google’s European business. Google European damages claims

Alphabet Trading Up 1.8%

GOOG opened at $332.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23. 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $358.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.68.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GOOG. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $445.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $410.09.

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.

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