Western Standard LLC Purchases Shares of 7,000 Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Western Standard LLC initiated a new position in Alphabet, buying 7,000 shares worth about $2.19 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents roughly 1.0% of its portfolio and is now its 18th-largest holding.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.11 per share versus the $2.64 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion, ahead of expectations. The company also trades near its 52-week high and continues to draw generally bullish analyst coverage.
• The company announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, up from $0.21, payable June 15. However, the article also notes that insiders sold shares over the last three months, including recent sales by a director and the CAO.

Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,000 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,191,000. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Western Standard LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 over the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $388.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company's 50 day moving average price is $341.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $323.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOGL. President Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $412.65.

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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