City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. Sells 87,956 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 110,211 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 87,956 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.0% of City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,944,208,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $4,338,397,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 17,667.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,686,640,000 after buying an additional 15,159,273 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 51.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,817,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,607,232,000 after acquiring an additional 10,843,853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,076,615 shares of company stock worth $107,809,111. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $302.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $349.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $319.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major competitor Meta has delayed a next‑generation AI release and reportedly discussed temporarily licensing Google’s Gemini model, which could help Alphabet expand usage/licensing of its AI stack and win incremental share. Meta delays release; may license Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a “buy” on GOOGL and set a $400 price target (~32% upside from current levels), which can support investor confidence and buying interest. Needham reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight Meta falling behind on large AI models (and considering licensing Google tech), reinforcing the view that Google could capture market share in foundational models and services. Meta falling behind — Yahoo
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Alphabet’s earnings growth and price strength as reasons to watch GOOGL, supporting a constructive fundamental view after recent results. Zacks: earnings growth & price strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Google, Amazon and Meta pushing their own AI chips signals a structural shift in AI infrastructure — a long‑term positive if Google’s stack wins, but it intensifies competition with incumbents like NVIDIA and may pressure margins/capex. AI chips competition — Yahoo
• Neutral Sentiment: Google sold a partial stake in its GFiber unit and partnered to form a new independent fiber provider; this reduces direct capital burden but also trims ownership of the broadband growth asset. GFiber stake sale — CNBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/PR note: Google named its London HQ “Platform 37” referencing DeepMind/AlphaGo success — modestly positive for culture/AI branding but not material to near‑term financials. Platform 37 naming — Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator and wider regulatory scrutiny on tech safety and child protection remain overhangs for Big Tech, including Alphabet, since new rules or enforcement could increase compliance costs or constrain certain services. UK regulator warning — Sky

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. President Capital raised their target price on Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.18.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.