Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 21.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 665,065 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 177,546 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 4.7% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $161,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delta Asset Management LLC TN grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 6,153 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Matisse Capital lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the third quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 14,814 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the third quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% in the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,963 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,914,730.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major competitor Meta has delayed a next‑generation AI release and reportedly discussed temporarily licensing Google’s Gemini model, which could help Alphabet expand usage/licensing of its AI stack and win incremental share. Meta delays release; may license Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a “buy” on GOOGL and set a $400 price target (~32% upside from current levels), which can support investor confidence and buying interest. Needham reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight Meta falling behind on large AI models (and considering licensing Google tech), reinforcing the view that Google could capture market share in foundational models and services. Meta falling behind — Yahoo
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Alphabet’s earnings growth and price strength as reasons to watch GOOGL, supporting a constructive fundamental view after recent results. Zacks: earnings growth & price strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Google, Amazon and Meta pushing their own AI chips signals a structural shift in AI infrastructure — a long‑term positive if Google’s stack wins, but it intensifies competition with incumbents like NVIDIA and may pressure margins/capex. AI chips competition — Yahoo
• Neutral Sentiment: Google sold a partial stake in its GFiber unit and partnered to form a new independent fiber provider; this reduces direct capital burden but also trims ownership of the broadband growth asset. GFiber stake sale — CNBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/PR note: Google named its London HQ “Platform 37” referencing DeepMind/AlphaGo success — modestly positive for culture/AI branding but not material to near‑term financials. Platform 37 naming — Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator and wider regulatory scrutiny on tech safety and child protection remain overhangs for Big Tech, including Alphabet, since new rules or enforcement could increase compliance costs or constrain certain services. UK regulator warning — Sky

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $320.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, February 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.18.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.4%

GOOGL opened at $302.28 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $349.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $319.12 and its 200 day moving average is $289.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. 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%. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.