J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 760,347 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,365 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 3.0% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $184,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $31,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in Alphabet by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 37.9% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $279.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, President Capital boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $359.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total value of $800,786.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 11,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,884.14. This represents a 19.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,067,686 shares of company stock valued at $105,352,291 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

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

Alphabet Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $318.57 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $349.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $321.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

About Alphabet

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.