GAM Holding AG Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

GAM Holding AG grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,593 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,287 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 90,936 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,895,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 590.3% in the 1st quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 35,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,487,000 after purchasing an additional 30,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 10.7% during the first quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord raised its price target for Alphabet to $390 and reiterated a Buy, boosting upside expectations and supporting investor sentiment. Canaccord PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet surpassed Apple to become the U.S. company with the second‑largest market cap, a headline that often attracts momentum buyers and index flows. Market Cap Surpasses Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Samsung said it will expand Galaxy phones with Gemini AI features — a distribution win that could accelerate user adoption of Google’s AI services and monetization opportunities for cloud/AI. Samsung / Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional activity remains supportive: MarketBeat and Quiver data show numerous upgrades, elevated price targets and large institutional buys, which underpin the rally. Analyst Sentiment / MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Competition in video/creator platforms (e.g., Spotify’s big creator push) and broader AI rivalry remain watch items; they could shift ad/video dynamics over time but are not immediate catalysts. Spotify vs YouTube
• Neutral Sentiment: Lobbying disclosures and quarterly fund/hedge‑fund positioning reported by Quiver are informational for policy and flows but unlikely to move the stock by themselves. Lobbying Disclosure
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet and Character.AI agreed to settle lawsuits alleging AI chatbots contributed to minors’ suicides — a material reputational and legal overhang that raises regulatory and liability concerns for AI products. Lawsuit Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that AI “answers” could cannibalize search ad revenue if users stop clicking links — a structural monetization risk for Google’s core ad business. Ad Cannibalization Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling activity reported in recent data (multiple executive sales) can be read negatively by some investors, adding caution despite institutional buying. Insider Selling / Quiver

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total transaction of $8,129,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,369,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $592,760,192.85. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,465 shares of company stock worth $57,056,497. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $322.48 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $328.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $305.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Loop Capital raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.79.

About Alphabet

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.