Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $156.68 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 499,301 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,908 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.4% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $156,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 73.5% in the 3rd 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,062,590 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $678,198,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum — Google’s Gemini upgrades and other AI improvements are boosting Search engagement and product monetization potential, supporting the longer-term ad and cloud growth thesis. Analysts and AI-focused commentary highlight upside from AI-driven search/product improvements. Zacks: Alphabet Relies on AI to Boost Search Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/institutional support — Some firms have nudged up FY EPS estimates and price targets (Erste, MarketBeat coverage of broad analyst upgrades), reflecting confidence in cloud, search and Gemini monetization — a stabilizing factor for long-term holders. MarketBeat: Analyst Optimism and Upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational milestones — Waymo and DeepMind deals (robotics, AD miles) show execution in adjacent growth areas; positive for long-term optionality but limited near-term revenue impact. These are credibility wins but not big drivers of current quarter results. Blockonomi: Waymo Milestone
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark liability verdicts — A Los Angeles jury found Google (YouTube) liable in a youth social-media addiction case; the ruling is being framed as a bellwether that could spur more suits and regulatory scrutiny. Investors are pricing in higher legal/regulatory risk and potential compliance costs, which has pressured the stock today. Reuters: US jury verdicts tee up fight over tech liability shield
• Negative Sentiment: Sector spillover from AI/chip headlines — Google researchers’ memory-compression news (and the related debate) has sparked volatility across memory/chip suppliers; that throws a short-term cold shower on tech sentiment and can drive indiscriminate selling in megacaps despite the company being the source of the innovation. CNBC: Google AI breakthrough pressures memory chip stocks

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet 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 owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Alphabet Trading Down 3.1%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $280.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $350.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $314.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.73. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

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.