Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 279,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,025 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.9% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $68,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.6% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 107,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,671 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,819 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Vantage Point Financial LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 185,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $8,108,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total value of $202,512.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,224 shares in the company, valued at $7,163,524.48. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at $720,914,730.12. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,687 shares of company stock valued at $58,728,068. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $330.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $312.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $341.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.31.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major commercial validation — Apple’s decision to use Google’s Gemini to power the next-generation Siri is being treated as a high-margin licensing win and a distribution multiplier for Gemini; MarketBeat highlights this deal as a key catalyst behind Alphabet clearing a $4 trillion market cap. Alphabet Tops $4 Trillion Valuation as AI Momentum Runs HotMarketBeat: Alphabet Tops $4 Trillion Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum — DeepMind and Google product teams are working closely (DeepMind CEO says daily dialogue with Google CEO) as Gemini and other AI features (e.g., Personal Intelligence) accelerate integration across Google apps — supports revenue/monetization pathways. DeepMind CEO is talking to Google CEO ‘every day’ as lab ramps up competition with OpenAICNBC: DeepMind/Google collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and market momentum — Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets (Goldman, BofA, Wells Fargo, Cantor, Jefferies) plus bullish media commentary (including Jim Cramer) are supporting investor sentiment and inflows. Is Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) The Most Profitable US Stock to Buy?InsiderMonkey: analyst coverage & targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial pilots & partnerships — Google will power agentic AI for Woolworths’ Olive chatbot in Australia later this year, a useful commercial test but limited near-term revenue impact. Do Woolworths shoppers want Google AI adding items to buy? We’ll soon find outTechXplore: Woolworths pilot
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwinds — Large forecasts for AI spending boost the long-term thesis for hyperscalers, but they also imply higher capex and competitive intensity across cloud and GPU suppliers. NVDA, GOOGL, META: AI Spending Forecast to Hit $2.53 Trillion This YearTipRanks: AI spending forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk — Google asked a U.S. judge to pause an order forcing it to share data with rivals while it appeals an antitrust ruling; litigation outcomes could materially affect search economics and competitive positioning. Google asks US judge to defer order forcing it to share data while it appealsReuters: appeal to defer data-sharing order
• Negative Sentiment: AI training litigation — Major publishers are seeking to join a class-action suit alleging Google used copyrighted works to train AI models; potential damages, injunctions or limits on training data could raise costs and slow model development. Publishers seek to join lawsuit against Google over AI trainingReuters: publishers move to join lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling & operational constraints — Reports show heavy insider sales (including large Sundar Pichai stock disposals) and Alphabet warns U.S. electrical transmission bottlenecks are slowing data‑centre hookups, which could constrain capacity growth for cloud/AI workloads. Insider selling and lobbying disclosureQuiverQuant: insider sales / lobbying • Google says US transmission system is biggest challenge for connecting data centersReuters: data-center transmission constraints

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.