GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC Acquires 15,160 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,604 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,160 shares during the quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% during the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 121.3% in the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its price target to $375 and kept an Outperform rating, citing faster-than-expected AI-driven ad rollout, a larger SMB ad addressable market, and CTV tailwinds tied to the Olympics — a clear bullish analyst signal. RBC Raises Alphabet (GOOGL) Target on AI Advertising Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Gemini API usage has more than doubled in five months, indicating faster monetization of Google’s improved Gemini models and implying near-term ad/API revenue upside as developers and partners increase spend. Gemini Usage Explodes as API Calls More than Double in Five Months
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and outlets continue to highlight Google Cloud as a major earnings lever (discussion that Cloud could help push ~$20B in operating income), reinforcing expectations that cloud + AI will sustain revenue and margin expansion. Will Alphabet’s Cloud Division Fuel $20 Billion in Income?
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile investors continue to hold Alphabet as a core position (Bill Ackman among those with GOOG exposure), which can support valuation stability and signals institutional confidence. Billionaire Bill Ackman Has 56% of His Hedge Fund’s $16.5 Billion Portfolio Invested in 3 Outstanding Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: “Wall Street is in love” coverage notes growing bullishness but asks how much upside remains — a valuation/expectations debate that could limit near-term gains if growth guidance or AI monetization misses. Wall Street Is in Love With Alphabet Stock, but How Much Upside Is Really Left?
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons with peers (e.g., Reddit) show Alphabet’s AI-driven ad tools and scale give it an edge, but competition for ad dollars and attention remains a watch item. RDDT vs. GOOGL: Which Digital Advertising Stock Has an Edge Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk resurfaced: Alphabet is appealing a key monopoly ruling and pushing back on court-ordered data sharing — an outcome here could materially alter search economics or force structural changes. Alphabet (GOOGL) Appeals Monopoly Ruling While Fighting Court-Ordered Data Sharing
• Negative Sentiment: Some smaller investors/hedge funds trimmed positions (Penn Davis Mcfarland reported selling), a sign that not all holders are adding at current prices and that profit-taking is occurring among certain managers. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc trims Alphabet Inc. stake

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $330.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $341.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during 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%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.31.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total transaction of $800,786.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. The trade was a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 192,687 shares of company stock valued at $58,728,068 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.