Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 94,631 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,558 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 94,631 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $57,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tradewinds LLC. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2,134.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,984,000 after buying an additional 43,080 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,345,000 after acquiring an additional 84,553 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,272,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $900,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $298.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $317.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.57.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DeepMind hires Bridgewater’s chief scientist Jasjeet Sekhon — a high‑profile talent win that strengthens Alphabet’s AI research and commercial credentials versus rivals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud + CVS launch “Health100” using Gemini models — expands Gemini into consumer healthcare (pharmacy, insurance, wearables) and creates a potential recurring revenue stream for cloud/AI services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Stitch “vibe design” update is drawing real competition away from incumbents (Figma/Adobe) — suggests faster AI‑driven product monetization and market expansion for developer/designer tools. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google struck agreements with five U.S. utilities to curb data‑center power use at peak demand — reduces brownout/cost risk for data‑center expansion and supports more predictable AI operations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is pursuing Pentagon contracts (coverage and video reports) — potential contract upside but comes with employee/PR controversy given industry disputes; outcome is uncertain for near‑term revenue. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Supply‑chain/geopolitical risk: reports that Alphabet is increasing use of Chinese suppliers for advanced liquid cooling raise export‑control and political risks for global AI builds. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Sundar Pichai and several directors have disclosed recent SEC‑filed share sales — repeated large insider sales can spook short‑term sentiment even if they are scheduled or for diversification. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader valuation/capex concern: commentary on massive hyperscaler AI capex and uncertain timing of returns is pressuring multiples across cloud/AI names, including Alphabet. Read More.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.