Means Investment CO. Inc. Has $21.83 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Means Investment CO. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,618 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.9% of Means Investment CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2,134.8% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,984,000 after purchasing an additional 43,080 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Alphabet by 31.3% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,345,000 after purchasing an additional 84,553 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank of Texas acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $900,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 price objective (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $343.90.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s results and AI traction remain strong: Cloud revenue and enterprise backlog are accelerating and Gemini user metrics/support drive upside to long‑term monetization. Zacks: The Zacks Analyst Alphabet…
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo deployment of next‑gen robotaxis signals commercial progress for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit, a longer‑term growth catalyst. CNBC: Waymo begins deploying next‑gen Ojai robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Some large asset managers are net buying while others trimmed positions — BNP Paribas added a multi‑million share position in GOOG, offsetting other institutional reductions. QuiverQuant: BNP Paribas fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in recent feeds show zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so shorting activity is not a clear driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet completed a very large multi‑currency debt offering (including long‑dated tranches/century bond reports), which has spooked some investors worried about aggressive debt‑funded CapEx and the lack of customary bond protections. Reuters: Alphabet bonds’ lack of guardrails…
• Negative Sentiment: Management guided 2026 CapEx sharply higher (~$175–$185B), and the market has treated that as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwind risk despite its AI rationale — this contributed to post‑earnings weakness. Zacks: Alphabet drops 7% post Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust scrutiny has resurfaced: regulators are probing Google’s search‑ads auction/pricing practices in Europe, introducing regulatory risk for ad monetization. Reuters: Google targeted by EU over search advertising auction practices
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional trimming reported in 13F updates (e.g., Neuberger, Swiss National Bank saw reductions), which can pressure intraday liquidity/psychology even as other funds add exposure. QuiverQuant: Neuberger Berman fund update

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.50, for a total transaction of $10,383,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,272,119 shares in the company, valued at $725,942,020.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,069,864 shares of company stock worth $105,985,041. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $306.02 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $321.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

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.