Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Eastover Investment Advisors LLC

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,286 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,702 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 5.8% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Searle & CO. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is deepening its AI infrastructure ties by backing a massive Texas data‑center project to be leased by Anthropic — a strategic move that secures capacity for large AI models and strengthens a key partner relationship. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been raising targets: Needham and other analysts have issued $400+/high‑3xx targets and firms like Wells Fargo raised theirs recently — supporting medium‑term upside narratives despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: recent quarterly beats, accelerating Google Cloud backlog (~$240B reported), and rapid Gemini adoption underpin revenue visibility and long‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Research’s TurboQuant memory‑compression work has spooked memory suppliers but can be a net positive for Alphabet — lower AI infrastructure costs and greater model efficiency improve margins and competitive positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is in a correction from its highs and some commentators frame the selloff as a buying opportunity; price action below key short‑term supports is increasing volatility but not yet changing the longer‑term bull case. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensified after a high‑profile jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction bellwether case — the direct damages are small but the ruling increases headline and litigation risk across many pending suits and could force product or regulatory changes that hit engagement/ads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and geopolitical pressures: a tech sector selloff (Nasdaq weakness, Iran war worries) and legal blows to peers like Meta have amplified outflows from large cap tech, pressuring GOOG along with the group. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider moves and high‑profile position trims (reported sales and some billionaire reductions) add selling pressure and headline risk in the near term. Read More.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $273.76 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $312.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $350.15.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.71.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.