Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Raised by Westmount Partners LLC

Key Points

• Westmount Partners LLC increased its Alphabet stake by 14.4% in the first quarter, adding 4,121 shares and bringing its total to 32,765 shares valued at about $9.42 million.
• Several large institutional investors also reported major Alphabet holdings, including Norges Bank, Berkshire Hathaway, and Vanguard, while institutions overall own about 40.03% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on Alphabet: recent price-target hikes came from multiple brokerages, and the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $413.13.

Westmount Partners LLC lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,765 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,121 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.3% of Westmount Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Westmount Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,534,239,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,338,397,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in Alphabet by 855.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,546,413,000 after buying an additional 13,004,828 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Alphabet by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GOOGL. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. China Renaissance increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,344,604. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet will replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average effective June 29, a notable prestige boost that could support passive fund buying and improve investor sentiment. Alphabet Set to Join and Honeywell International to Remain in Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed its Buy rating on Alphabet, reinforcing confidence in the company’s long-term outlook. Alphabet had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet remains a major AI infrastructure beneficiary, with reports noting accelerating demand at Google Cloud, quarterly cloud revenue above $20 billion, and strong enterprise AI adoption. Alphabet Rides on Accelerating AI Infrastructure Demand: What's Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Google DeepMind announced a $75 million AI research partnership with A24, signaling continued investment in AI applications outside core search and cloud. Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is still dominant in search, but new reports suggest competition from AI-powered alternatives is putting pressure on its long-term search leadership. Google's online dominance Is showing signs of cracking in AI era
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment was hurt by the departure of key AI figures, including Noam Shazeer and John Jumper, raising concerns that Alphabet is losing talent to OpenAI and Anthropic. Alphabet paces for worst day in a year on AI concerns after high-profile exits
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Google’s search dominance may be starting to crack as users test non-AI or AI-free search options, adding pressure on the company’s core revenue engine. Google Losing Ground as Consumers Seek Out Non-AI Search
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern over heavy AI capital spending and higher rates also weighed on megacap tech shares, contributing to Alphabet’s weakness. Alphabet, SpaceX, Intel, and More Stocks That Explain Today's Market

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $346.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $368.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.50. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $166.13 and a 12 month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Alphabet Company 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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