Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Holdings Lessened by Busey Bank

Busey Bank lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 590,234 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,031 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 4.0% of Busey Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Busey Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $143,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 25,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,929,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 163.8% during the first quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $306,000. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 32.8% in the first quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 6,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $313.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total transaction of $8,129,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,369,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $592,760,192.85. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $694,638.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,629,725.80. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 211,090 shares of company stock valued at $59,576,083. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet has outperformed other Magnificent Seven members YTD (about +66%) which underpins momentum and investor confidence in GOOG’s AI/search-led growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BMO and other sell‑side commentary highlight accelerating AI-driven cloud commitments as a structural growth catalyst for Google Cloud revenue and margins — supports higher earnings multiples for GOOG. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s acquisition of Intersect (data‑center/energy infrastructure) is a strategic move to scale capacity for AI workloads — likely positive for long‑term cloud/AI positioning (capex & integration risk remain). Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and price‑target updates remain bullish (multiple recent buys/overweights and median targets near/above current levels), reinforcing institutional demand; large funds (UBS, Berkshire, Fidelity) materially added positions in Q3. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Industry comparisons point to Alphabet’s AI momentum (Search + Cloud) as a competitive edge versus other AI names like Adobe — a narrative likely to attract growth and momentum money. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Product improvements — Google is testing a way to let some users change Gmail addresses without losing data. Helpful for user satisfaction but low near-term revenue impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and buy‑the‑dip narratives (MarketBeat, Motley Fool) may sustain retail interest; they support sentiment but aren’t new fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~35% in December (to ~56.15M shares), increasing potential downside pressure and volatility if sentiment weakens. (Higher days‑to‑cover also raises squeeze risk but signals more bearish positioning.)
• Negative Sentiment: Quiver/other data flag heavy insider selling (multiple senior executives sold shares recently), which some investors view as a cautionary signal on near‑term conviction. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Operational note: Waymo paused SF robotaxis during extreme weather — minor near‑term PR/operational impact, but highlights autonomous mobility regulatory/operational risks. Article Title

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $314.96 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $296.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.36. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $328.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 8.28%.

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.