Verus Capital Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,504 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.6% of Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after buying an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,182,111 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 17,547.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,099,366 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Alphabet, a near-term buy-side catalyst that can boost sentiment and trading demand. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights underappreciated assets (14% stake in Anthropic, early SpaceX stake, global device reach) that add upside optionality beyond Search/Cloud — a narrative that supports a higher multiple if Anthropic or SpaceX value inflection occurs. Alphabet’s Quiet Edge: The Hidden Assets Powering Its Run
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is consolidating robotics software unit Intrinsic into Google, trimming Other Bets complexity and accelerating product integration — likely cost/efficiency positive for margins and faster commercialization of physical AI. Former Alphabet ‘moonshot’ robotics company Intrinsic is folding into Google
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expanding testing to Chicago and Charlotte signals continued path to commercialization for robotaxis — a potential long-term revenue stream and optional upside. Waymo to begin testing in Chicago and Charlotte
• Positive Sentiment: Device wins: Samsung’s S26 showcases deeper Gemini integration (third‑party app control), extending distribution for Google’s AI — supportive for product monetization and data network effects. Samsung’s S26 gives an advance look at what the Google-powered Apple Siri could do
• Neutral Sentiment: Google plans to test changes to search layout in Europe to give rivals more prominence as a way to avoid a major EU fine — this shows proactive mitigation but underscores ongoing regulatory risk that could affect Search economics. Exclusive: Google to test changes to search results, source says as EU fine looms
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of a big increase in short-interest contain obvious data errors (0 shares / NaN) — treat as noise until corrected; not a reliable immediate signal. (data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: MIG Capital trimmed its Alphabet Class C stake—hedge‑fund selling can pressure price in the short term and prompt headline-driven flows. MIG Capital Cuts Alphabet Inc. Class C Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted insider selling tied to the broader “Magnificent Seven” net selling trend and a small reported stock dip — insider/ownership shifts can sap momentum and weigh on sentiment near-term. The “Magnificent Seven” Are Sending Shockwaves Through Wall Street With This $8.4 Billion Warning
• Negative Sentiment: A minor Russian court fine over VPN distribution and continued EU scrutiny are reminders that regulatory/legal costs and reputational risk remain a recurring headwind. Russia fines Google for distributing VPN services, TASS reports

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,112,482 shares of company stock valued at $119,145,289 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $313.03 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $350.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $321.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.87.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

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.