Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,183,389 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 56,931 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.4% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $287,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Delta Asset Management LLC TN increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 6,153 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Matisse Capital lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the third quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 14,814 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Investment Management grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 4,228 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the third quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.57.
Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%
Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $311.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $320.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.27. The company has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $349.00.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,112,482 shares of company stock worth $119,145,289 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.
More Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Alphabet, citing that the company has “three key traits of an AI winner” — an analyst upgrade that supports the AI-led growth narrative and can boost investor confidence. Wells Fargo upgrades Google parent Alphabet, says it has ‘3 key traits of AI winner’
- Positive Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target on GOOGL to $355 and kept a Buy rating — a notable analyst vote of confidence implying meaningful upside from current levels. Loop Capital adjusts price target on Alphabet to $355
- Positive Sentiment: Product and AI momentum: Google launched Lyria 3 (music-generation) in beta and is getting picked as a top growth stock by some outlets — incremental product wins that reinforce Alphabet’s AI growth story and monetization pathways. Alphabet (GOOGL) Expands AI Reach Amid Market Debate
- Neutral Sentiment: Industry capex backdrop: Bridgewater estimates Big Tech will invest about $650B in AI infrastructure in 2026 — a structural tailwind for Alphabet’s cloud and AI services, though it also heightens competition and capacity risk. Big Tech to invest about $650 billion in AI in 2026, Bridgewater says
- Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Apple may pay to use Alphabet’s Gemini in Siri and Waymo clarified robotaxi remote‑driving practices — potential commercial upside and regulatory clarification, but still subject to confirmation and regulatory scrutiny. Alphabet Sits At Center Of AI And Robotaxi Shifts
- Negative Sentiment: Renaissance sold about $700M in Alphabet dividend stock — a sizable institutional sell that can add near-term selling pressure. Alphabet: Renaissance sells $700 million in dividend stock
- Negative Sentiment: An Alphabet insider sold ~$14.3M of shares — a headline that can weigh on sentiment even if occasional in normal insider activity. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Insider Sells $14,341,182.30 in Stock
- Negative Sentiment: Wider market worry: coverage notes hyperscalers are funding AI buildouts increasingly with debt, raising questions about capex returns and investor risk tolerance — a sector headwind that can pressure GOOGL alongside peers. How the AI debt binge shattered hyperscalers’ ‘unspoken contract’ with investors
Alphabet 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.
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