Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Sold by WestEnd Advisors LLC

WestEnd Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 107,122 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 17,540 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.8% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $36,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $85,403,303,000 after purchasing an additional 12,718,127 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Alphabet by 90.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,040,373 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,900,078,000 after purchasing an additional 8,112,680 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Alphabet by 12.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 31,745,979 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,128,850,000 after purchasing an additional 3,574,810 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,058,385,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,004,749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price (down from $425.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $332.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $412.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google plans to invest $17 billion in a Wyoming data center, adding capacity to serve AI demand. Google’s credit backstop for Anthropic’s $19 billion TeraWulf data-center lease may also help secure future AI infrastructure. The commitments support growth, though they require substantial capital. Alphabet’s Google Plans $17 Billion Investment in Wyoming Data Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Google, Meta and TikTok sued California to block a law restricting features considered addictive for users under 16. A successful challenge could limit regulatory constraints, but the outcome is uncertain and the dispute adds scrutiny of social-media practices. Meta, Google, and TikTok sue California AG over teen social media law
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending is pressuring free cash flow and margins. The $17 billion Wyoming project reinforces Google’s growth ambitions but could intensify worries about the scale and payoff of capital spending. Alphabet’s Free Cash Flow Is Declining Faster Than Analysts Expected
• Negative Sentiment: A new lawsuit alleges a student used Google AI on a school Chromebook while planning a suicide attempt. The allegations are unproven, but the case could heighten reputational, product-safety and legal risks amid broader concerns about children’s online safety. Google faces claims student used AI chat on US school laptop to plan suicide attempt
• Negative Sentiment: Google has drawn backlash over a policy that would deny Search access to schools that restrict its AI tools, potentially damaging trust and inviting further scrutiny. Separately, law firms are publicizing a securities class action alleging misleading statements about Gemini 3.5 Pro; the claims are allegations, not findings, but add legal overhang. Google faces backlash for plan that would turn off Search for schools that restrict AI

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $282.57 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $334.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $270.70 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.59%.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.

Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.

Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.