Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Maple Capital Management Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Maple Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 446,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,280 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 7.1% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $108,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 200.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 840 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% in the second quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 366,001 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $64,925,000 after purchasing an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 269,599 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,109,115 shares of company stock worth $117,815,536 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $306.30 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $318.68 and a 200 day moving average of $292.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DeepMind hires Jasjeet Sekhon from Bridgewater as chief strategy officer, strengthening DeepMind’s strategic and research bench at a time when top AI talent is a competitive advantage. Bridgewater’s chief scientist Sekhon to join Google’s DeepMind AI unit
• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out a redesigned Stitch AI design tool that analysts/publications say can displace incumbents (Adobe, Figma), creating near-term competitive pressure on rivals and reinforcing Google’s product-led push into AI-powered developer/designer workflows. Adobe Stock Drops After Google’s Stitch Redesign
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Wiz acquisition (cloud security) and other cloud investments continue to beef up Google Cloud’s product stack, supporting revenue/corporate sales momentum versus AWS/Azure. GOOGL’s Wiz Buyout Expands Cloud Security Portfolio: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Google is expanding ties with the U.S. military and is well positioned to benefit after rivals stumble — a potential source of large, recurring cloud and services contracts. Google Sits Pretty as A.I. Rivals Compete for Pentagon Favor
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is in talks to buy liquid-cooling systems from Chinese vendors (Envicool and others) and may acquire a Chinese cooling firm — moves aimed at supporting energy-efficient AI data center scale. This reduces future supply/capacity constraints for AI workloads. Google in talks with China’s Envicool, others to buy data centre cooling systems, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Google told UK regulators it will let sites opt out of generative-AI features in search, a concession meant to ease competition concerns — reduces regulatory overhang but could limit product scope in the UK. Google to allow AI opt-out to ease UK competition concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet paid a small dividend on March 16 ($0.21/share) — a modest cash return that is unlikely to move the stock materially but supports shareholder yield narrative. Google stock just paid dividends; here’s how much investors received
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag valuation/near-term margin pressure — Alphabet’s elevated P/E and rising capex for AI/data centers keep some investors cautious despite strong growth. Is Alphabet Stock’s 25.55X PE Still Worth it? Buy, Sell, or Hold?
• Negative Sentiment: High executive compensation scrutiny after reports of Sundar Pichai’s large pay package could raise governance concerns for some investors. What Sundar Pichai’s $692 Million Pay Package Says About Alphabet’s Next Chapter

Alphabet 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.