JGP Wealth Management LLC Purchases 3,374 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,321 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,374 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 25,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,929,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 163.8% in the 1st quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 32.8% in the first quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 6,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $314.96 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $296.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.36. The company has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $328.67.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.28%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet has outperformed other Magnificent Seven members YTD (about +66%) which underpins momentum and investor confidence in GOOG’s AI/search-led growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BMO and other sell‑side commentary highlight accelerating AI-driven cloud commitments as a structural growth catalyst for Google Cloud revenue and margins — supports higher earnings multiples for GOOG. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s acquisition of Intersect (data‑center/energy infrastructure) is a strategic move to scale capacity for AI workloads — likely positive for long‑term cloud/AI positioning (capex & integration risk remain). Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and price‑target updates remain bullish (multiple recent buys/overweights and median targets near/above current levels), reinforcing institutional demand; large funds (UBS, Berkshire, Fidelity) materially added positions in Q3. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Industry comparisons point to Alphabet’s AI momentum (Search + Cloud) as a competitive edge versus other AI names like Adobe — a narrative likely to attract growth and momentum money. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Product improvements — Google is testing a way to let some users change Gmail addresses without losing data. Helpful for user satisfaction but low near-term revenue impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and buy‑the‑dip narratives (MarketBeat, Motley Fool) may sustain retail interest; they support sentiment but aren’t new fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~35% in December (to ~56.15M shares), increasing potential downside pressure and volatility if sentiment weakens. (Higher days‑to‑cover also raises squeeze risk but signals more bearish positioning.)
• Negative Sentiment: Quiver/other data flag heavy insider selling (multiple senior executives sold shares recently), which some investors view as a cautionary signal on near‑term conviction. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Operational note: Waymo paused SF robotaxis during extreme weather — minor near‑term PR/operational impact, but highlights autonomous mobility regulatory/operational risks. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.80, for a total value of $9,743,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,239,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,437,776.20. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.66, for a total transaction of $32,401.32. Following the sale, the director owned 18,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,750,916.64. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 211,090 shares of company stock worth $59,576,083. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $313.04.

About Alphabet

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.