Community Trust & Investment Co. Sells 30,430 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Community Trust & Investment Co. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 373,705 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 30,430 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.9% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $91,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 121.3% during the second quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $329.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $306.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $331.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at $720,914,730.12. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $184,914.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,872.04. This trade represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 227,965 shares of company stock valued at $67,495,822 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.