Washington Trust Bank Cuts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Washington Trust Bank cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 89,890 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,060 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.6% of Washington Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $21,944,208,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 17,667.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,686,640,000 after acquiring an additional 15,159,273 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 51.7% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,817,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,607,232,000 after acquiring an additional 10,843,853 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 516,559,609 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $91,033,300,000 after acquiring an additional 6,733,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Alphabet by 201.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,547,250 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,374,542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple ties Gemini to Siri, widening Gemini distribution and strengthening Alphabet’s AI moat — a material revenue/strategic positive for GOOGL that supports premium multiples and growth expectations. How Apple’s Gemini-Powered Siri Deal Will Impact Alphabet (GOOGL) Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish analyst moves — Wolfe Research lifted its price target to $390, Raymond James upgraded to “strong buy” and raised targets (reports of a $400 target), and Deutsche Bank raised its target — fueling buy-side momentum and supporting upside expectations. Wolfe Research Adjusts Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Google pushes into AI shopping and other AI-enabled monetization avenues — analysts and outlets highlight accelerating product-led revenue opportunities that underpin long-term growth. Google’s Making a Splash in AI Shopping
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market commentary: recent ~3–4% pullback called a routine consolidation within a long-term uptrend — suggests no fundamental change but signals caution for investors seeking cheaper entry points. Alphabet Cools After the Run: Buy Now or Wait for a Better Entry?
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo launched robotaxi service in Miami (business expansion) — growth opportunity for autonomous revenue but not yet material to near-term GAAP results. Waymo launches robotaxi service in Miami
• Negative Sentiment: NTSB opens an investigation after Waymo robotaxis were recorded illegally passing stopped school buses multiple times — raises regulatory, safety and reputational risks for Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit and could lead to operational constraints or fines. US safety board opens probe into Waymo robotaxis passing stopped school buses
• Negative Sentiment: Federal judge allowed a consumer antitrust lawsuit over Google’s default-search payments to proceed — continued legal exposure that could affect search economics and ad revenue over time. Judge Orders Google to Face Consumer Antitrust Lawsuit Over Search

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total value of $31,971.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,205 shares in the company, valued at $5,706,357.25. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.30, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 222,409 shares of company stock worth $68,564,532. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research upped their price target on Alphabet from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, CICC Research raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $240.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.40.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $328.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $315.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.50. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $340.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet 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.