6,949 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Purchased by HBW Advisory Services LLC

HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,249 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,949 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 0.7% of HBW Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $344.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.19. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $244.67 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $341.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $348.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $417.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, New Street Research cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $405.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $422.10.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $425 from $420 and maintained an Overweight rating. The firm cited sustained Google Cloud growth and Alphabet’s ability to remain competitive in artificial intelligence. Alphabet Stocks Rise as JPMorgan Lifts Target on Cloud Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to generate positive AI momentum. Gemini 4 Argon reportedly scored highly on accounting and enterprise benchmarks, while Google demonstrated a quantum-computing technique that could reduce errors significantly. These developments support the company’s positioning against OpenAI, Anthropic and other rivals. Gemini 4 Argon Accounting Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: New commercial initiatives—including Google’s Universal Cart shopping tool, a multiyear AI partnership with CNN and potential YouTube audiobook offerings—could broaden monetization across Search, Gemini and YouTube. Google Universal Cart Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Alphabet’s upcoming earnings, with analysts generally bullish on AI and cloud growth. However, the company’s substantial data-center and AI infrastructure spending raises questions about near-term free cash flow and returns on capital. Alphabet Q3 Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are promoting a securities class action alleging that Alphabet failed to disclose disappointing Gemini training results. The repeated notices and December lead-plaintiff deadline create a reputational and potential litigation overhang, although they do not represent new operating results. Alphabet Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Google warned that suspected China-linked hackers may exploit a vulnerability in BeyondTrust software, adding cybersecurity and trust concerns. Separately, renewed fears over stretched AI valuations and competition for digital advertising could limit further gains. Google Warns of BeyondTrust Exploitation Risk

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 420,865 shares of company stock valued at $8,293,477. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. Established in 2015 through a corporate restructuring, Alphabet oversees Google and a collection of businesses focused on technology, innovation and emerging industries. Sundar Pichai serves as Alphabet’s chief executive officer and also leads Google.

Google is Alphabet’s primary business and operates an internet ecosystem that includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.