Bender Robert & Associates Sells 2,111 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Bender Robert & Associates decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,266 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,111 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 3.8% of Bender Robert & Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RDA Financial Network raised its position in Alphabet by 5.3% during the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% during the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 170,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares during the period. American National Bank of Texas bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $900,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Alphabet by 3.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $206,542,000 after buying an additional 42,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oldfather Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $329.29 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $306.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $331.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 owned 8,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 227,965 shares of company stock valued at $67,495,822 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $325.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $318.18.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets boost upside expectations for GOOG, with Canaccord and others lifting targets well above prior levels — a direct catalyst for buying interest. Canaccord Raises PT to $390
• Positive Sentiment: AI product momentum: reports show Gemini gaining share versus ChatGPT and Gemini-powered features rolling into Gmail at scale — this supports stronger ad/search monetization and cloud expectations. Gemini Gains Market Share
• Positive Sentiment: Market-cap milestone: Alphabet briefly overtook Apple as the world’s No.2 public company — a sign of investor confidence that can attract index/ETF flows and reinforce momentum. Alphabet Surpasses Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Wiz acquisition pending EU approval by Feb.10 — approval would remove a large M&A overhang; rejection would be a setback. Outcome is material but binary. EU to Decide on Wiz Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo branding/product updates signal long-term autonomy growth but limited near-term EPS impact; watch commercialization cadence. Waymo Rebrands Robotaxi
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/reputational pressure: three Democratic senators urged Apple and Google to suspend X and Grok from their app stores over sexualized images of minors created via AI — a headline that raises moderation/regulatory scrutiny for app stores and Google’s ecosystem. Senators Call to Suspend X and Grok
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure from AI products: Alphabet and Character.AI settled suits alleging AI chatbots harmed minors (including a teen suicide), underscoring potential costs, regulation and reputational risk. AI Lawsuit Settlements
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and talent movement: CEO Sundar Pichai disclosed a multi-million-dollar share sale; separately, Nvidia hired a Google marketing veteran — both can weigh on near-term sentiment and raise questions about insider cashing and talent retention. Pichai Share Sale

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.