ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 4,618 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,489 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,618 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.6% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $40,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $273.76 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. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $350.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $312.93 and a 200-day moving average of $295.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

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 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.