Portside Wealth Group LLC Trims Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Portside Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 18.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,205 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of Portside Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,157 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% in the second quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 174,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,018,000 after acquiring an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.1% in the second quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $318.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $322.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.75. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $350.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GOOG. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $300.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.47.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EU regulators gave unconditional approval to Alphabet’s proposed $32B acquisition of Wiz, removing a major regulatory overhang on that deal. Google secures EU antitrust approval for $32 billion Wiz acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Investor demand for the debt was strong — the offering was increased and reports say total take exceeded $30B — signaling appetite for high?quality corporate debt and Alphabet’s credit. Alphabet boosts debt sale again as total raise exceeds $30 billion, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Several institutional filings show portfolio additions to GOOG in recent 13F updates, indicating continued long?term buyer interest from some funds. HOMESTEAD ADVISERS CORP added GOOG shares
• Neutral Sentiment: The 100?year, 6.125% bond is a rare, strategic move: it locks long?term funding for AI capex but introduces unique duration and inflation risks that investors must price differently than normal corporate debt. Alphabet to sell rare 100-year bond to fund AI expansion, memo
• Neutral Sentiment: Fundamental backdrop remains solid: strong Q4 results and robust Google Cloud growth support the capex plan, but heavier spending guidance raises near?term cash?flow questions. Alphabet Q4 takeaway: Doubling down on cloud and AI investments
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction skewed negative as some investors interpret the massive debt raise and century bond as “sticker shock,” prompting selling and short?term anxiety about leverage and capital allocation. Google Stock Stalls as $20B Century Bond Sale Sparks Debt Anxiety
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational and legal headlines (a TechCrunch report about data handed to ICE, trademark suit by Autodesk, ongoing trials) add regulatory/PR risk that can pressure sentiment. Google sent personal and financial information of student journalist to ICE
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling and some fund reductions were reported this week, which can exacerbate downward pressure when combined with the debt headlines. Mawer Investment Management decreased GOOG holdings

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.18, for a total value of $10,893,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,179,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,481,906.96. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total transaction of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,163,524.48. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,070,464 shares of company stock worth $106,153,077 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.