Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock: Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Decreases Stake

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 257,002 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,022 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.2% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $88,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Titleist Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 34,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,909,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,679,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Elefante Mark B lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Elefante Mark B now owns 43,733 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,629,000 after buying an additional 1,897 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 49,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,127,000 after buying an additional 8,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 287.4% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,886 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 2,883 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Gemini 4 Argon for developers, businesses and paying users, highlighting capabilities in coding, finance and legal work. The release strengthens Alphabet’s position in the generative-AI race, although some commentary suggests Wall Street may need evidence of meaningful monetization before assigning substantial value. Google launches flagship AI model Gemini 4 Argon for developers, businesses
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas raised its Alphabet price target to $450, citing the outlook for Alphabet’s internally developed tensor processing units (TPUs). Another analyst said Alphabet’s AI-chip business could unlock as much as $100 billion in value by 2028, while Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an Overweight rating with a $420 target. Alphabet target bumped to $450 at BNP Paribas on TPU outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage remains constructive on Alphabet’s expanding Google Cloud business, roughly $514 billion cloud backlog and growing AI-related demand. Google’s 3.6-gigawatt nuclear-power agreement with Constellation also underscores its long-term effort to secure electricity for AI data centers. Nuclear ETFs in spotlight as Google and Constellation sign deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Google expanded its consumer ecosystem with a $180 Fitbit Edge wearable and private, user-created Android apps distributed through Google Play. These initiatives could increase engagement and subscription revenue, but their near-term earnings impact is unclear. Google Play now supports private vibe-coded apps
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class action alleging Alphabet misrepresented the progress of its Gemini 3.5 Pro model, including training setbacks and a missed June 2026 launch target. The case covers investors who purchased shares from May 19 through July 16, with lead-plaintiff deadlines generally falling around November 30 or December 1. The repeated notices increase headline and legal risk, though they do not represent a court finding of wrongdoing. Alphabet AI issues and securities fraud class action
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors remain focused on Alphabet’s very large AI capital expenditures. The gap between operating cash flow and free cash flow raises concerns that accelerating data-center spending could pressure returns, even as reported earnings remain strong. Apple’s new HomeView smart-home initiative also adds competitive pressure in devices and AI assistants. Does the risk-reward profile still favor Alphabet investors

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

GOOGL stock opened at $353.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $345.00 and a 200-day moving average of $350.40. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $240.51 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 441,399 shares of company stock worth $8,677,053 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $417.00 price target (up from $411.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $425.72.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and internet services company best known as the parent company of Google. Its primary business, Google Services, includes online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a range of hardware and subscription products.

Alphabet also operates Google Cloud, which provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, productivity software, and artificial intelligence services to businesses, governments, and other organizations.