Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $26.12 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 107,244 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.5% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $26,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.5% during the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 14,617 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,593,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 401,773 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $71,271,000 after buying an additional 64,102 shares during the period. Petros Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% in the second quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC now owns 14,805 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 88,021 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, January 5th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Mizuho set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $343.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.64, for a total transaction of $9,640,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,304,619 shares in the company, valued at $683,642,180.16. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,037,964 shares of company stock valued at $95,259,727. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat on results and cloud momentum — Q4 EPS and revenue topped consensus; Google Cloud grew ~48% and backlog jumped, while Gemini/user and token metrics point to accelerating AI monetization. Alphabet Crushes Earnings — MarketBeat
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise traction and deals validate cloud/AI strategy — multi‑year customer agreements and growing cloud run‑rate support sustained revenue upside. Google Cloud, Liberty Global partnership — Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still bullish on long‑term story — several analysts raised targets and reiterated conviction that Search, YouTube and Cloud + AI create durable growth optionality. Analyst price‑target moves (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced ($0.21 per share; record/ex‑dividend dates set) — a small yield that may modestly broaden buyer base but is immaterial to core growth thesis.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rising capex is a strategic (not short‑term) signal — management frames spending as necessary to secure AI leadership; whether the ramp converts to sustainably higher margins will determine valuation re‑rating.
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx guidance spooked markets — management guided ~$175–185B for 2026 (roughly double 2025), triggering concerns about near‑term returns and free cash‑flow dilution. CapEx guidance — Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and technical pressure — the stock sold off after hours/premarket and has tested the 50‑day moving average as investors booked gains and de‑risked into the capex surprise. Why stock is falling — MarketWatch
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/institutional selling and some position trims — SEC/13F filings and a spate of fund updates show net trimming by some holders, which can amplify near‑term downside on disappointing guidance. SEC insider filing

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $331.33 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $350.15. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $322.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.91.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 36.21%. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 8.28%.

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.