Country Trust Bank Sells 31,995 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jan 23rd, 2026

Country Trust Bank cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 408,371 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 31,995 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.2% of Country Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $99,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $32,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $330.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $315.30 and its 200-day moving average is $259.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.09. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $341.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded GOOG to a “Strong Buy” and raised its price target to $400, citing acceleration across Alphabet’s AI stack — a direct catalyst for buying interest. Raymond James upgrades Alphabet to Strong Buy as “AI stack shifts to high gear”
Positive Sentiment: Analysts across the street are lifting targets and reiterating buy ratings (RBC, Wedbush, others), creating upward pressure ahead of Q4 earnings as expectations for AI‑driven ad and cloud growth rise. Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) Wins a New Street-High Price Target Ahead of Q4 Earnings
Positive Sentiment: Apple plans to use Google’s Gemini models to power the next Siri — a major distribution win that strengthens Gemini’s reach across billions of devices and supports longer‑term monetization and platform lock‑in. Apple to Turn Siri Into AI Chatbot Powered by Google’s Gemini
Positive Sentiment: Waymo expanded its robotaxi service to Miami — incremental commercial rollout that supports Waymo’s path to revenue scale and diversification beyond advertising and cloud. Waymo launches robotaxi service in Miami, extending U.S. lead
Positive Sentiment: Analysts are flagging strong momentum in Google Cloud, supporting upside to revenue growth and margins as enterprise AI adoption accelerates. Alphabet Stock Rises As Analyst Highlights Momentum In Google Cloud
Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat notes a modest pullback from record highs and technical consolidation near $320; fundamentals remain strong but valuation is elevated, so some investors may wait for a deeper retracement ahead of the Feb. 4 Q4 earnings print. Alphabet Cools After the Run: Buy Now or Wait for a Better Entry?
Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer said he’s not abandoning the Magnificent Seven but acknowledged rotational flows into other sectors — a reminder that short‑term fund flows can temporarily divert gains away from market leaders like Alphabet. Jim Cramer says he’s not abandoning the Mag 7 stocks despite recent struggles. Here’s why
Negative Sentiment: YouTube’s CEO flagged “managing AI slop” as a 2026 priority — content moderation and safety work could raise costs or slow monetization improvements on the platform if AI‑generated content proliferates. YouTube chief says ‘managing AI slop’ is a priority for 2026

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Eight 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.13.

Check Out Our Latest Report on GOOG

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total value of $800,786.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.50, for a total transaction of $10,383,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,272,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $725,942,020.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 192,687 shares of company stock worth $58,728,068 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.