Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 33.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,852 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 516,559,609 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $91,033,300,000 after acquiring an additional 6,733,278 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 141,615,284 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 4,224,497 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,944,208,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,151,820 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,780,875,000 after purchasing an additional 503,306 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $184,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,872.04. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total transaction of $31,971.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,706,357.25. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 192,687 shares of company stock valued at $56,255,711 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $314.43 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $303.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.53. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $328.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Citic Securities raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research set a $380.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up previously from $320.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.12.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI hardware strategy and sentiment shift — Coverage argues Alphabet’s custom AI chip/TPU roadmap and clearer monetization plans are reshaping investor expectations and could drive a breakout toward new highs as AI spending accelerates. Alphabet Stock Eyes Breakout Above All-Time High
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud + Gemini monetization pickup — Analysts and commentators highlight that Google Cloud’s AI product rollout (Gemini integration, Overviews, enterprise AI services) is reaching an inflection point, improving revenue mix and margins for 2026. Alphabet’s AI Cloud Moment May Finally Be Here
• Positive Sentiment: Distribution scale via partners — Samsung plans to double the number of devices running Google’s Gemini features to ~800M units this year, a large-scale distribution win that supports mobile AI adoption and ad/Cloud engagement. Samsung to double mobile devices powered by Google’s Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price‑target lifts — Argus raised its price target to $365 (buy), and MarketBeat/other outlets show broad bullish analyst revisions heading into 2026, supporting upside expectations and institutional inflows. Argus adjusts price target on Alphabet to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Broader bullish repositioning into AI leaders — MarketBeat pieces highlight Alphabet among the most‑upgraded/rewired tech names for 2026, reflecting momentum in analyst sentiment and flows that favor AI/cloud leaders. 5 Stocks Wall Street Repriced Higher Heading Into 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Defense and energy partnerships alter investment profile — Coverage notes Alphabet’s Pentagon‑backed AI work and an Intersect Power deal, which can broaden revenue sources but also adds defense exposure and ESG/government contracting complexity. Impact is mixed for multiples and investor cohorts. How Alphabet’s Pentagon‑Backed AI Push and Intersect Power Deal Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Negative Sentiment: Local legal/regulatory noise — Indonesian prosecutors filed graft charges linked to laptop procurement tied to Google; while not a company‑level financial shock, such cases add regional legal risk and headline volatility that can sap risk appetite short‑term. Ex-Indonesian minister faces graft charges over Google laptop

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.