Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stake Cut by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,329 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,002 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.2% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1,438.5% in the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $384.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $332.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $319.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOG. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google I/O 2026 showcased major AI products and upgrades, including Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini Spark, AI-powered Search changes, and new monetization features, reinforcing confidence that Alphabet can monetize AI across its core businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and Blackstone announced a $5 billion AI cloud venture built around Google’s TPU chips, which could expand Google Cloud and strengthen Alphabet’s position in AI infrastructure. Google, Blackstone to create new AI cloud company, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary after I/O has been bullish, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Outperform ratings and higher price targets, suggesting the market sees more upside from Alphabet’s AI strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Alphabet’s AI adoption, cloud growth, and record operating margins support the view that the company is not just spending on AI, but improving profitability as well.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some reports note mixed signals from large investors and traders, including portfolio trimming by a few funds and valuation concerns after the stock’s strong run.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced headlines about a director sale and a major shareholder reducing its stake, which may create modest short-term pressure as investors lock in gains. TikTok, YouTube lag on UK child safety as rivals act, regulator says

Alphabet 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.