Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Position Decreased by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 110,938 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 13,905 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.3% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $27,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,182,111 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,914,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,511,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428,266 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 580,897.4% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 135,087,705 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,963,208,000 after buying an additional 135,064,454 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 107,760,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,022,926,000 after buying an additional 441,177 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 35,357,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,272,146,000 after buying an additional 2,117,990 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $314.39 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $297.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $328.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.80, for a total transaction of $9,743,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,239,619 shares in the company, valued at $671,437,776.20. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 210,987 shares of company stock valued at $59,551,040. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $313.04.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market and analysts have materially repriced Alphabet as an AI leader after strong execution (Gemini, Google Cloud, proprietary chips); MarketBeat lists Alphabet as the most-upgraded stock with sizable upside targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: TipRanks highlights top analysts projecting a ~23% price gain for 2026, supporting upward momentum and higher price targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product traction: Reports show Gemini gaining meaningful market share and large MAU figures, reinforcing Alphabet’s competitiveness vs. rivals and fueling revenue expectations from AI-driven services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial wins and spin-off traction: SandboxAQ (Alphabet spin-off) won a major Bahrain government cyber contract — a signal that Alphabet’s broader AI/cyber assets are monetizing beyond search ads. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Cost/technology advantage: Commentary highlights Alphabet’s structural edge from custom AI chips and scale — a durable margin/competitive advantage if demand for large models continues. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital intensity debate: Analysts and columnists note heavy, ongoing AI capex across hyperscalers — this underpins future growth but keeps near‑term spending and margin scrutiny in focus. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: “Stay-on-top” analysis: Coverage pointing out what Alphabet must do to retain AI leadership — positive for longer-term case but underscores ongoing competitive pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: Reports say the DOJ is probing Google over DEI-related practices, which adds a potential regulatory/legal overhang that can increase headline volatility. Read More.

Alphabet Company 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.