Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,641 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $40,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 145.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 196 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total value of $9,859,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,076,615 shares of company stock valued at $107,809,111. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband with Stonepeak as majority owner while Alphabet keeps a minority stake — this monetizes Google’s fiber asset, reduces future capex burden and leaves Alphabet with upside exposure to a larger independent broadband operator. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Expanding Horizons: AI, Cloud, and Broadband Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Gemini AI is being added to Google Maps via “Ask Maps,” increasing product differentiation and engagement across a high-traffic app — a direct example of AI driving user value and monetization opportunities. Google (GOOGL) Adds Its Gemini AI Model to Google Maps to Allow More Detailed Questions
• Positive Sentiment: Google completed the acquisition of Wiz (~$32B), strengthening cloud security offerings — a strategic tuck-in that can help win larger enterprise cloud deals and justify higher cloud multiple over time. Google Just Closed Its $32 Billion Wiz Deal. How Should You Play GOOGL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Google changed Android billing rules, cut developer fees and resolved the Epic/Fortnite dispute — removing a legal overhang and improving developer economics for Play Store, which supports long-term app revenue resilience. Google (GOOGL) App Store Brings Back Fortnite, Changes Fee Structure
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain supportive — recent coverage highlights strong Q4 results, cash-rich balance sheet and a consensus “Buy” tilt with several elevated price targets. This underpins medium-term investor confidence. Alphabet Q4: A Fairly Valued Tech Titan To Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and options flow show heightened bullish conviction around Gemini and cloud, but this is sentiment-driven and can amplify short-term volatility rather than change fundamentals. Alphabet Stock (GOOG) Opinions on Gemini AI Advancements
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data in feeds appears noisy/invalid and does not signal a meaningful squeeze or covering dynamic at present.
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. regulator warnings on protecting children online increase the risk of tighter rules and compliance costs for big tech — a regulatory backdrop that could pressure valuations if enforcement or new rules accelerate. Big tech given warning – and deadline – by UK regulator

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $301.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $350.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.90.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $345.71.

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.