Windward Capital Management Co. CA Sells 2,581 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Windward Capital Management Co. CA trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $69,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 400.0% in the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley grew its holdings in Alphabet by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 121.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total transaction of $31,971.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,706,357.25. This represents a 0.56% 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, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.30, for a total value of $10,637,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,211,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,945,705.60. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 225,075 shares of company stock worth $69,332,637. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $336.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $319.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.06. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $341.20.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

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

Alphabet 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.