Diversified Trust Co. Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Diversified Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 112,465 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,158 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 0.6% of Diversified Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Diversified Trust Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 73.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,388,775,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,929 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 330.4% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,989,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $707,691,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $678,198,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.1%

Alphabet stock opened at $289.59 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $315.11 and its 200-day moving average is $294.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DeepMind/robotics partnership expands commercial uses for Gemini models and underscores Alphabet’s leadership in agentic AI — a near‑term narrative investors reward. Google partners with Agile Robots
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud wins and industry deals (Openreach, BMO tokenization) reinforce enterprise monetization of AI/Cloud, supporting revenue growth that analysts cite in upgraded price targets. Openreach taps Google AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical and product improvements — lower‑memory AI algorithms and better AI‑generated music — improve efficiency and product appeal but are incremental for near‑term earnings. Google introduces new algos to reduce AI memory usage
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/product initiatives in key markets — e.g., labeling verified investment apps in India — lower consumer‑risk friction but also signal more local compliance work for Google Play and services. Google to label verified investment apps in India
• Negative Sentiment: A Los Angeles jury found Google’s YouTube negligent in a social‑media addiction lawsuit — a small compensatory award now but a potential legal precedent that could multiply future litigation, settlement costs and regulatory scrutiny for platforms. That verdict has been the headline driver of earlier selling pressure. What did jury decide in social media case against Meta and Google?
• Negative Sentiment: Broader investor concerns — heavy AI capex, sector technical weakness and commentary about slide toward bear‑market territory — keep near‑term downside risk even as fundamentals improve. Google Stock Slides Toward Bear Market Territory

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Nine 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Alphabet 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.