Bensler LLC Has $28.15 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Bensler LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 115,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,649 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of Bensler LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $28,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $20,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 49,889 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,792,000 after buying an additional 16,308 shares in the last quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 89.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 171,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,216,000 after buying an additional 80,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts boosted targets and reiterated buys, supporting upside case for growth from AI and cloud — Daiwa lifted its target to $380 and President Capital lifted its target as well. Daiwa raises price target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: EU granted unconditional antitrust approval for Google’s $32B acquisition of Wiz, removing a major regulatory obstacle for the company’s largest deal and supporting cloud/security growth expectations. EU clears Wiz acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expanded fully autonomous service in Nashville, signaling progress in commercializing a core long-term growth area beyond advertising. Waymo goes fully autonomous
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet increased the size of a multi-part debt sale (reports say the raise topped $30B) as demand strengthened — provides funding for AI infrastructure but raises questions about capital structure and long-duration liabilities. Alphabet boosts debt sale above $30B
• Neutral Sentiment: Company offered voluntary exit packages to some business-unit employees — could reduce costs but also reflects strategic reorganization and execution risk. Google offers buyouts to some staff
• Negative Sentiment: Report that Google handed personal and financial data on a student/journalist to ICE (via subpoena not approved by a judge) raises privacy/regulatory and reputational risk. Google sent student data to ICE
• Negative Sentiment: European Publishers Council filed an EU antitrust complaint about Google’s AI Overviews, adding regulatory pressure around search/AI monetization. Publishers file antitrust complaint
• Negative Sentiment: Autodesk sued Google over alleged trademark infringement for AI video tools and other legal skirmishes/consumer-safety litigation are piling up — added litigation risk. Autodesk sues Google
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile critics and some investors flagged Alphabet’s century‑long debt issuance as worrisome; public comments (e.g., Michael Burry posts) add negative market sentiment. Michael Burry warns on Google

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total transaction of $800,786.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. The trade was a 19.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,067,686 shares of company stock valued at $105,352,291 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $354.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. New Street Research increased their price target on Alphabet from $275.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Alphabet from $225.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $359.44.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $318.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $349.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $321.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.