Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 565,168 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 29th, 2026

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 19.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,441,182 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 565,168 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.6% of Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $987,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its position in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 23,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $442,112.96. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 285,049 shares of company stock valued at $10,051,351 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp set a $445.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Read Our Latest Report on Alphabet

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals are supporting the rebound. Alphabet’s latest quarter featured 24.2% revenue growth, an EPS beat, and an 82% year-over-year increase in Google Cloud revenue. Analysts and investors argue that AI adoption, Search resilience, YouTube growth, and improving cloud profitability can eventually justify the company’s large infrastructure investments. Alphabet: Buy The Capex-Caused Decline
Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional backing remains constructive. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy,” while KeyCorp modestly raised its FY2028 EPS estimate. Asset Management One also added approximately 117,000 GOOGL shares, signaling continued institutional confidence despite recent volatility. Alphabet upgrade
Positive Sentiment: YouTube expanded its monetization ecosystem. A multiyear agreement will bring Peacock content, including sports and entertainment programming, to YouTube Premium subscribers in the United States, potentially strengthening engagement and subscription value. YouTube and Peacock deal
Neutral Sentiment: AI remains both the growth engine and the central debate. More than 1,100 technology employees urged governments to establish stronger AI-safety rules. The issue could increase compliance costs, but coordinated regulation may also benefit large, well-funded platforms such as Google over smaller competitors. AI safety plan
Negative Sentiment: Capital-spending concerns continue to cap enthusiasm. Alphabet’s roughly $195 billion–$205 billion 2026 capex forecast has pushed free cash flow negative and raised questions about returns on AI infrastructure. Investors are looking for evidence that Cloud growth and AI monetization will outpace the spending burden.
Negative Sentiment: European legal risks are escalating. Following a $1 billion Digital Markets Act fine, rivals could pursue as much as $10 billion in private damages claims, creating potential financial and operational pressure on Google’s European business. Google European damages claims

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $332.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.70 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $358.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet Company 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.