Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Bought by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 337,398 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,845 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 9.8% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $82,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 370 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the third quarter. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% in the third quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Meritas Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.0% in the third quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst upgrade and higher price targets highlight AI-driven upside — Raymond James raised GOOG to “Strong Buy” and boosted its price target (street chatter also shows multiple firms lifting targets), supporting investor confidence in Alphabet’s AI strategy and Google Cloud momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Big investors adding shares — Baillie Gifford disclosed adding ~1.19M GOOGL shares in the latest 13F filing, a sign of continued institutional accumulation that can underpin price support. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI ecosystem wins — Apple reportedly will use Google’s Gemini to power the next Siri, expanding Gemini’s distribution and reinforcing Alphabet’s AI moat and monetization pathways. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage remains focused on AI and technicals — Several outlets and analysts are publishing bullish previews and technical trading ideas (including MarketBeat, Zacks, TipRanks), which keeps interest high but doesn’t guarantee near-term moves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo expansion vs. scrutiny — Waymo launched robotaxis in Miami (expansion signal), which can drive future growth for Alphabet’s autonomy segment but also raises operational/legal exposure as deployment scales. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: NTSB opens probe into Waymo after robotaxis passed stopped school buses — A federal safety investigation into repeated illegal passes in Austin (reported incidents across states) creates regulatory and reputational risk for Waymo and, by extension, Alphabet. That headline is the clearest near-term negative catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust litigation risk persists — A federal judge allowed a consumer antitrust lawsuit over Google Search to proceed, keeping legal exposure and potential remedies on the radar for investors assessing longer-term regulatory risk. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.50, for a total value of $10,383,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,272,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $725,942,020.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 225,187 shares of company stock worth $69,365,318 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 1st. Eight 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $326.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $328.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $341.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $316.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.21 dividend. 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 is currently 8.28%.

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.