Pecaut & CO. Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Pecaut & CO. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,536 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,484 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.9% of Pecaut & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Pecaut & CO.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tradewinds LLC. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2,134.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,984,000 after acquiring an additional 43,080 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. American National Bank of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $900,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $206,542,000 after buying an additional 42,028 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo’s $16 billion funding round and $126B valuation bolster Alphabet’s optionality in autonomous mobility and unlock value outside core ads — a major positive signal for long-term growth investors. Waymo valued at $126 billion in latest financing
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is signing multi-year AI deals (Liberty Global) and commercial deployments (Humana), validating monetization of Gemini and enterprise AI adoption. Google Cloud, Liberty Global strike five-year AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: several analyst upgrades and raised price targets ahead of earnings reflect confidence in Search/Cloud/AI revenue leverage. Top Mizuho Analyst Raises Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Price Target Ahead of Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional and thematic buyers (Crossmark, Sumitomo Mitsui, ARK additions) show continued allocation into Alphabet amid the AI thematic. Fund Update: Crossmark Global Holdings, Inc. Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings are due after the close Feb. 4 and options imply a sizable move — results and guidance will likely drive the next major direction. Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock: What Wall Street Expects from Earnings Wednesday
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in these feeds is noisy/zeroed (likely reporting artifacts) and currently provides no clear bearish signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and some institutional selling: recent filings show the CAO sold shares and several funds trimmed positions — persistent insider sales can weigh on sentiment near costly valuations. SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Covers and worry pieces highlight high valuation and the risk of a near-term pullback if AI monetization or ad growth disappoints — investor expectations are elevated. Why Google Stock Faces A Near-Term Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Collateral concerns: Disney disclosed a YouTube TV-related hit, a reminder of distribution and carriage risks for YouTube/TV businesses. Disney said it took a $110 million hit from its fight with YouTube TV

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho set a $325.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $330.83.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $340.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $350.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $321.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.04.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,037,964 shares of company stock valued at $95,259,727. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.