9,800 Shares in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Purchased by HighVista Strategies LLC

HighVista Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,182,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,388,775,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,929 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 17,547.9% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $731,331,000 after acquiring an additional 4,099,366 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.0%

GOOG stock opened at $304.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $319.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.55. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet closed its acquisition of cybersecurity company Wiz — a large, strategic deal that accelerates Google Cloud’s enterprise security offering and supports higher-margin cloud growth expectations. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Announces Completion of its Acquisition of Wiz
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses and investor letters highlight renewed momentum in Google Cloud and AI positioning (new growth pillars), reinforcing the narrative that Cloud is a multi-year growth engine for Alphabet. Alphabet: Inside Google Cloud’s New Growth Pillars
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent fundamentals (strong revenue and an earnings beat in its latest quarter) remain a supportive backdrop for the stock, underpinning investor confidence in AI-driven monetization and cloud expansion.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet and other big tech firms pledged to power next‑generation data centers at the White House — this supports long‑term infrastructure needs for AI/Cloud but is a gradual, multi‑year catalyst. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Other Tech Giants Pledge at White House to Power Next-Generation Data Centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage and analyst pieces (Zacks, InsiderMonkey, Seeking Alpha, Motley Fool pieces in the feed) keep the stock in investors’ spotlight — that can amplify moves but is not a direct catalyst. Alphabet (GOOGL) Surpasses Market Returns: Some Facts Worth Knowing
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures show zero shares in the feed — likely a data anomaly rather than a meaningful change in positioning. (Short‑interest metrics appear unreliable in this update.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk’s comment that SpaceX will “far exceed” Google DeepMind in AI is a headline grabber but has limited immediate impact on Alphabet’s fundamentals; it is more noise in the competitive narrative. Elon Musk Says SpaceX Will ‘Far Exceed’ Google DeepMind In AI
• Negative Sentiment: European publishers and tech firms are urging EU regulators to speed up and impose a large antitrust fine over alleged self‑preferencing in Google Search; an adverse ruling or fine would be a material regulatory risk for Alphabet’s core search business in Europe. Exclusive: European publishers, tech firms urge EU to speed up fine on Google over search

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total transaction of $184,038.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,624 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,999.52. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,076,615 shares of company stock worth $107,809,111. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.