Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank reduced its Alphabet stake by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, but GOOGL still ranks as its 5th-largest position and represents about 3.0% of the portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 beating estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion topping expectations.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $412.65.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 351,440 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 25,801 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.0% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $110,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its stake in Alphabet by 17.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $85,557,000 after purchasing an additional 48,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $388.88 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.00 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $341.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price target (up from $360.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, New Street Research upped their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.65.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google I/O 2026 showcased Alphabet’s expanding AI strategy, including new Gemini-powered models, upgraded search features, AI glasses, and ad products designed to monetize conversational search. This supports the case that Alphabet can defend and grow its core search business while creating new revenue streams. Google Flexes Its AI Muscles
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also unveiled a more ambitious AI lineup, which suggests it is trying to stay ahead in the AI race and deepen integration across search, cloud, and advertising. Investors may see this as a sign of stronger long-term monetization. Alphabet Just Unveiled Its Most Ambitious AI Lineup Yet
• Positive Sentiment: Google is rolling out AI-powered ad formats that could improve ad performance and increase advertiser spending, helping offset fears that AI search will hurt ad revenue. Google rolls out AI-powered ad formats at Marketing Live
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned $15 billion Missouri AI data hub underscores its willingness to invest heavily in infrastructure to support future AI and cloud demand, which can reinforce investor confidence in growth durability. How Google’s $15 Billion Missouri AI Data Hub Strategy Could Reshape Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Investor Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is pushing for judicial oversight in Canada’s online safety bill, trying to limit the risk of secret orders that could weaken encryption. This is more of a legal/regulatory issue than a direct earnings catalyst, but it keeps policy pressure on the stock. Apple, Google push for judicial oversight in Canada online safety bill
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s ad efforts are being viewed as a potential threat to Google’s keyword-based search advertising model, raising investor concern that AI-native competitors could chip away at Alphabet’s core search franchise over time. OpenAI is building a new kind of ad machine. Early data suggests Google should worry.
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Waymo’s robotaxi service ended a ride early and directed a passenger to Uber or Lyft could add to worries about execution risks in Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle business, though this is a smaller issue for the stock than search or AI. A Waymo car ended a ride early, then the company told the passenger to get an Uber
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that DuckDuckGo installs are rising as users reject Google’s AI search experience suggest some user pushback against the company’s search changes, which could matter if it signals broader search-share risk. DuckDuckGo installs are up 30% as users reject being ‘force-fed' Google's AI Search
• Negative Sentiment: A reported EU antitrust fine against Google would reinforce regulatory overhang and could pressure sentiment if the penalty is confirmed. EU plans to fine Google high triple-digit million euro sum as part of antitrust investigation

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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