Windward Capital Management Co. CA Cuts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Windward Capital Management Co. CA reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 284,258 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,581 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 5.5% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $69,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tradewinds LLC. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2,134.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,984,000 after buying an additional 43,080 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,272,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank of Texas bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $900,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $206,542,000 after purchasing an additional 42,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Loop Capital raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $327.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $336.28 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.09. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $341.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $319.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc raised its price target and kept an Overweight view, citing strong AI and Cloud momentum that supports upside for GOOGL. Alphabet (GOOGL) Price Target Lifted at KeyBanc
• Positive Sentiment: Several funds disclosed new or larger GOOGL positions (e.g., Badgley Phelps, Migdal), indicating institutional demand that can support the stock. Fund Update: Badgley Phelps Wealth Managers, LLC
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI rollouts continue: Google added AI image-generation to Chrome and improved its virtual assistant panel — moves that bolster monetizable user engagement and reinforce Alphabet’s AI narrative. Google adds AI image generation to Chrome
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo is preparing a London robotaxi launch this spring, signalling commercial expansion of autonomous services outside the U.S. that could drive long-term growth if scaled successfully. Waymo Swerves Past Dickens and Zebras
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other analyst notes highlight AI-driven search and cloud growth as upside catalysts ahead of upcoming earnings, but they flag competition from Microsoft and Amazon as a challenge. AI Push to Boost Search Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in recent feeds appears anomalous (showing zero), so short-interest signals are not providing clear near-term pressure/relief. (Data appears unreliable.)
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. road-safety regulator opened an investigation after a Waymo robotaxi hit a child on Jan. 23, creating safety/regulatory risk for autonomous-vehicle timelines and potential liabilities. Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) Gains amid U.S. Probe into Waymo
• Negative Sentiment: UK and EU regulators are proposing rules that would limit how Google uses publishers’ content for AI overviews and could force Android changes or require access for rivals — measures that could reduce Alphabet’s competitive moat or add compliance costs. UK regulator proposes changes to Google search for publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to pay $135M to settle a suit over handling of cellular data, requiring changes to Android/Play setup — a modest but tangible near-term cost and operational change. Google to Pay $135 Million to Settle Lawsuit
• Positive Sentiment: Security/brand win — Google disrupted a large residential proxy network that was exploited by bad actors, reducing exposed devices by millions and lowering fraud/abuse risk across its services. Google disrupts large residential proxy network

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total value of $800,786.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,075 shares of company stock valued at $69,332,637. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.