Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Holdings Lifted by Ardent Capital Management Inc.

Ardent Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,485 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 10.4% of Ardent Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Ardent Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $4,298,572,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after purchasing an additional 5,182,111 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 73.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,388,775,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,929 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 17,547.9% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $731,331,000 after buying an additional 4,099,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Alphabet by 330.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,989,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $707,691,000 after buying an additional 3,062,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $34,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,307 shares in the company, valued at $6,224,380. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,070,485 shares of company stock valued at $104,428,169 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $338.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $320.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.66. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $342.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google’s new Project Genie AI model — which can turn short prompts into fully rendered, playable 3D worlds and characters — is being viewed as a strategic win for Alphabet’s AI leadership and platform reach; the announcement spooked game developers but signals a new product avenue for Google that could expand ads, cloud consumption and developer tools. Videogame stocks slide on Google’s AI model that turns prompts into playable worlds
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note expects Alphabet to beat Q4 revenue and EPS as AI lifts ads and cloud demand — a direct fundamental rationale for upside to near-term earnings and investor estimates. Alphabet Could Power Past Forecasts As AI Lifts Ads, Cloud: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying: Vanguard reportedly added material GOOGL exposure in its latest filing, which supports demand for the shares from big passive/active holders. Fund Update: VANGUARD GROUP INC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Google disrupted a major residential proxy network used by bad actors, a security move that reduces abuse risk across its ecosystem and is a modest reputational/operational positive. Google disrupts large residential proxy network, reducing devices used by operators by ‘millions’
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focused on Q4 guidance and key metric estimates ahead of earnings; expectations and guidance will likely drive short-term moves more than some headlines. Ahead of Alphabet (GOOGL) Q4 Earnings: Get Ready With Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Profile/endorsement notes: coverage pieces and fund letters (e.g., Giverny Capital mention, Tim Cook comments on partnership) keep sentiment visible but are unlikely to move the tape materially on their own. Alphabet (GOOG) Contributed 4.7% to Giverny Capital Asset Management’s 2025 Growth
• Negative Sentiment: A former Google engineer was convicted of stealing AI trade secrets and uploading internal materials to personal cloud accounts — a legal/security headwind that raises concerns about IP protection and could prompt tighter controls and scrutiny. Former Google engineer found guilty of espionage and theft of AI tech
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo involvement in a pedestrian incident has triggered an NHTSA probe; regulatory/safety risks around Waymo’s rollout remain a potential liability and source of short-term volatility for Alphabet. A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school. The NHTSA is investigating

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.