Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 565,657 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,624 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $137,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2,134.8% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,984,000 after buying an additional 43,080 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in Alphabet by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,345,000 after acquiring an additional 84,553 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $30,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $900,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total transaction of $800,786.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. The trade was a 19.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,069,864 shares of company stock worth $105,985,041. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $306.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $321.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.59. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s results and AI traction remain strong: Cloud revenue and enterprise backlog are accelerating and Gemini user metrics/support drive upside to long‑term monetization. Zacks: The Zacks Analyst Alphabet…
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo deployment of next‑gen robotaxis signals commercial progress for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit, a longer‑term growth catalyst. CNBC: Waymo begins deploying next‑gen Ojai robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Some large asset managers are net buying while others trimmed positions — BNP Paribas added a multi‑million share position in GOOG, offsetting other institutional reductions. QuiverQuant: BNP Paribas fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in recent feeds show zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so shorting activity is not a clear driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet completed a very large multi‑currency debt offering (including long‑dated tranches/century bond reports), which has spooked some investors worried about aggressive debt‑funded CapEx and the lack of customary bond protections. Reuters: Alphabet bonds’ lack of guardrails…
• Negative Sentiment: Management guided 2026 CapEx sharply higher (~$175–$185B), and the market has treated that as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwind risk despite its AI rationale — this contributed to post‑earnings weakness. Zacks: Alphabet drops 7% post Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust scrutiny has resurfaced: regulators are probing Google’s search‑ads auction/pricing practices in Europe, introducing regulatory risk for ad monetization. Reuters: Google targeted by EU over search advertising auction practices
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional trimming reported in 13F updates (e.g., Neuberger, Swiss National Bank saw reductions), which can pressure intraday liquidity/psychology even as other funds add exposure. QuiverQuant: Neuberger Berman fund update

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 1st. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up previously from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

About Alphabet

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.