Great Lakes Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,135,019 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,392 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.3% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $275,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $21,944,208,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,686,640,000 after purchasing an additional 15,159,273 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 51.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 10,843,853 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,733,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Alphabet by 201.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,547,250 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,153,824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,374,542 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $309.00 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $349.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $321.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.62. 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:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Loop Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. President Capital boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price objective (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.64.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets — Arete and New Street recently raised price targets (to $405 and $380 respectively), underscoring continued buy-side conviction around Alphabet’s AI and cloud leadership. Arete Research Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud monetization and AI demand remain strong — recent coverage highlights robust Cloud revenue growth and improving profitability from AI workstreams, supporting longer‑term revenue trajectory. Google Cloud Is Turning AI Demand Into Profits
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo product rollout advances — Waymo began deploying sixth‑generation Ojai robotaxis, which the company says are lower‑cost and more weather‑capable, a tangible execution milestone for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit. Waymo Begins Deploying Next‑Gen Ojai Robotaxis
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support — Some major firms (e.g., JPMorgan) are reiterating buy views, which can help stabilize sentiment after short‑term weakness. JPMorgan Chase Reiterates Buy Rating for Alphabet
• Neutral Sentiment: Century bond drew strong demand — Alphabet’s rare 100‑year bond saw heavy uptake (pension buyers), providing low‑cost financing for AI capex but raising debate about long‑dated debt risks. Investors view this as both a funding positive and a longer‑term leverage concern. Why Alphabet’s 100‑Year Bond Is Raising New Fears
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust probe into search ad auctions — Regulators in Europe have opened inquiries into Google’s sale of search ads, a regulatory risk that could pressure ad economics or require product changes if enforcement follows. Google Targeted by EU Over Search Ad Auction Practices
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy 2026 capex plan fuels profit‑and‑monetization fears — Coverage highlights a $175B–$185B capex plan for AI infrastructure; that large spend profile is creating near‑term free‑cash‑flow and margin anxiety, which has been cited as a reason for recent share weakness. Alphabet Drops 7% Post Q4 Earnings

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at $720,914,730.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,067,086 shares of company stock worth $105,184,255. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.