Westpac Banking Corp Lowers Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

25 Jul 2026, 11:06 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 10.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,498 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,503 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.8% of Westpac Banking Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,596,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $106,936,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,006 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,788,000 after buying an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Alphabet

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GOOG opened at $319.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.70 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.38.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Alphabet Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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