Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stake Trimmed by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 633,482 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 255,115 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.9% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $154,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Robbins Farley boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% during the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 121.3% during the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.45, for a total transaction of $31,971.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,205 shares in the company, valued at $5,706,357.25. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 225,187 shares of company stock valued at $69,365,318 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of GOOG opened at $328.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $316.33 and its 200 day moving average is $260.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $341.20.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst upgrade and higher price targets highlight AI-driven upside — Raymond James raised GOOG to “Strong Buy” and boosted its price target (street chatter also shows multiple firms lifting targets), supporting investor confidence in Alphabet’s AI strategy and Google Cloud momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Big investors adding shares — Baillie Gifford disclosed adding ~1.19M GOOGL shares in the latest 13F filing, a sign of continued institutional accumulation that can underpin price support. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI ecosystem wins — Apple reportedly will use Google’s Gemini to power the next Siri, expanding Gemini’s distribution and reinforcing Alphabet’s AI moat and monetization pathways. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage remains focused on AI and technicals — Several outlets and analysts are publishing bullish previews and technical trading ideas (including MarketBeat, Zacks, TipRanks), which keeps interest high but doesn’t guarantee near-term moves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo expansion vs. scrutiny — Waymo launched robotaxis in Miami (expansion signal), which can drive future growth for Alphabet’s autonomy segment but also raises operational/legal exposure as deployment scales. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: NTSB opens probe into Waymo after robotaxis passed stopped school buses — A federal safety investigation into repeated illegal passes in Austin (reported incidents across states) creates regulatory and reputational risk for Waymo and, by extension, Alphabet. That headline is the clearest near-term negative catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust litigation risk persists — A federal judge allowed a consumer antitrust lawsuit over Google Search to proceed, keeping legal exposure and potential remedies on the radar for investors assessing longer-term regulatory risk. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up previously from $336.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.13.

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.