Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Holdings Decreased by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,168 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 15,532 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.9% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $37,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,546,012 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $448,684,000 after purchasing an additional 56,295 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,637,000 after buying an additional 13,371 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Moment Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 9.3% in the second quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 4.0% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 64,262 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stores Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum and 2025 strength: Coverage highlights that Alphabet’s AI launches and product moves (Gemini, model upgrades) helped lift ad and cloud monetization, driving a banner 2025 that underpins bullish investor views. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade flow: Some sell‑side shops have raised targets (notably a Citizens JMP upgrade to $385), which can attract buying interest and support the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Firm buy-side / retail interest: Multiple investor pieces list Alphabet as a top 2026 AI/capital‑allocation idea due to its distribution edge, cloud growth and end‑to‑end AI stack. That narrative is helping demand from advisors and retail channels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational moves (energy / Intersect Power): Alphabet’s purchases of energy and data‑center power capacity are strategically important for scale but are longer‑dated benefits for EPS. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed coverage amid the Intersect Power story. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Emerging tech exposure (quantum): Market commentary positions Alphabet as a lower‑risk way to get quantum exposure versus pure‑play names — relevant for strategic, longer‑term investors rather than a near‑term catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Large disclosed sales (John Kent Walker sold ~17,829 shares; director Frances Arnold also sold) may create near‑term selling pressure or signal tax/planning activity that investors watch. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx and margin risk: Analysts warn heavy AI infrastructure spending across hyperscalers could pressure near‑term free cash flow and margins, a key risk for valuation if spending outpaces revenue conversion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal noise: Ongoing reporting about DOJ probes and policy scrutiny adds an overhang that can dent sentiment if enforcement escalates. Read More.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3%

GOOGL opened at $313.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.55. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $328.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. 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 firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS 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 paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. The trade was a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 192,687 shares of company stock worth $56,255,711. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. President Capital raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $258.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Alphabet from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.76.

Alphabet Company 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.