Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Purchases 6,792 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,380,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,792 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 5.4% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $335,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,886,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 51,507 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 12,547 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $2,711,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 34,372 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,057,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,531,453.08. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,909 shares of company stock worth $57,927,282. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market cap milestone and AI positioning — reports note Alphabet entered the roughly $4 trillion club as investor enthusiasm around its AI investments and platform advantages has accelerated interest in the stock. Alphabet Enters the $4 Trillion Club as AI Bets Reshape Big Tech
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud as a high‑growth profit driver — analysis highlights that AI demand could more than double Google Cloud’s net income and drive toward a ~$20B income run rate, supporting margin expansion and valuation. Will Alphabet’s Cloud Division Fuel $20 Billion in Income?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/partnership upgrades — coverage notes Bank of America revamped its view after Google announced two partnerships, a near‑term catalyst that can support upside via stronger revenue/strategic positioning. Bank of America revamps Alphabet stock after Google enters two key partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: Ad market competitiveness — industry comparisons argue Alphabet still holds the edge over newer players (e.g., Reddit) thanks to AI-driven ad tools and scale, supporting ad revenue resilience. RDDT vs. GOOGL: Which Digital Advertising Stock Has an Edge Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor buy lists emphasize long‑term AI exposure — several investor publications included Alphabet on “stocks to buy” lists for 2026 based on AI and cloud exposure; positive sentiment but broad and not an immediate catalyst. 2 Stocks to Buy in 2026 and Hold Forever
• Neutral Sentiment: Quantum and long‑term tech bets — multiple pieces revisit Alphabet’s leadership in quantum and AI research; important for long‑term optionality but unlikely to move near‑term earnings. 3 Top Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Competition risk in ads — analysis warns OpenAI’s push into the ad market could pose a structural threat to Google’s core ad business, a clear downside risk to growth and multiple. Warning Bells For Alphabet As OpenAI Enters Ad Market
• Negative Sentiment: Sector rotation / dispersion risk — coverage notes the “Magnificent Seven” are diverging and some AI darlings are now trailing the market, which can exacerbate volatility and pressure multiples if sentiment cools. The Magnificent Seven Drove Markets. Now They’re Pulling in Different Directions.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $306.00 price objective (up from $255.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alphabet from $340.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Melius Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.31.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $330.00 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.54, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.08. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $340.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.45.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.