City State Bank Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

City State Bank increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 12.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,386 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.4% of City State Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. City State Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 25,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,929,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 8,487 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its stake in Alphabet by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 10,453 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 88,019 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after acquiring an additional 37,735 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $314.39 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $328.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $297.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GOOG. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 12th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alphabet from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.04.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet 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 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 transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total transaction of $867,569.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 210,987 shares of company stock valued at $59,551,040. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.

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.