Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock: Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Holdings

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,145,533 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,696 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 4.6% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $390,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Team Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $284.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $327.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $336.57. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $271.41 and a one year high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by ($0.89). The company had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.97 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Investors of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.59%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, 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 value of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOG. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a “mkt outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.38.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic investment and cloud ties could add value. Alphabet plans to invest $10 billion in Anthropic at its IPO, on top of prior commitments. Anthropic also has large Google Cloud infrastructure commitments, potentially supporting cloud revenue and giving Alphabet a valuable stake if the IPO valuation holds. Those gains remain contingent on the offering and valuation. Article: Anthropic’s Trillion-Dollar IPO Could Give Cloud Giants a Double Win
• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding its AI hardware and model lineup. New TPU variants target confidential computing and larger AI workloads, potentially helping Google Cloud compete and reduce reliance on outside chips. Google also made Gemini 4 Carbon available to developers and businesses. Article: Google broadens its AI hardware portfolio with two new specialized chips Article: Google Launches Gemini 4 Carbon
• Neutral Sentiment: Pixel Tag adds a new consumer product. Google’s $30 item tracker is now available for Android users, but its effect on Alphabet’s overall results is likely limited. Article: Pixel Tag is now available
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face renewed securities-fraud lawsuit headlines. Multiple law firms publicized a pending class action alleging misleading statements about the Gemini 3.5 Pro launch timeline. The lead-plaintiff deadline is December 1. The notices are largely legal solicitations, but the underlying allegations can add uncertainty and reputational risk. Article: Alphabet securities-fraud lawsuit deadline
• Negative Sentiment: AI competition is intensifying. Anthropic is reportedly developing workplace tools, including a spreadsheet product that could compete with Google Sheets, while its Claude assistant is expanding into Google Meet. This highlights both competitive pressure and the risk of depending on a partner that also competes with Google. Article: Anthropic brings Claude to Google Meet
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo faces a safety and privacy overhang. Federal scrutiny over robotaxis’ school-bus behavior and added privacy protections related to Spirit Airlines employee data create regulatory and reputational risks. Article: Federal Government Probes Waymo Over School-Bus Safety

About Alphabet

Alphabet is a technology holding company whose primary business is Google. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google became part of Alphabet when the company adopted a holding-company structure in 2015. Sundar Pichai leads Alphabet and Google as chief executive officer. Google offers internet search, online advertising, cloud computing, and software and hardware products. Its services and products include Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Cloud.