Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Cut by Eastover Investment Advisors LLC

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,286 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,702 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.8% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 73.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,388,775,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,929 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Alphabet by 330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,989,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $707,691,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $678,198,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is deepening its AI infrastructure ties by backing a massive Texas data‑center project to be leased by Anthropic — a strategic move that secures capacity for large AI models and strengthens a key partner relationship. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been raising targets: Needham and other analysts have issued $400+/high‑3xx targets and firms like Wells Fargo raised theirs recently — supporting medium‑term upside narratives despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: recent quarterly beats, accelerating Google Cloud backlog (~$240B reported), and rapid Gemini adoption underpin revenue visibility and long‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Research’s TurboQuant memory‑compression work has spooked memory suppliers but can be a net positive for Alphabet — lower AI infrastructure costs and greater model efficiency improve margins and competitive positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is in a correction from its highs and some commentators frame the selloff as a buying opportunity; price action below key short‑term supports is increasing volatility but not yet changing the longer‑term bull case. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensified after a high‑profile jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction bellwether case — the direct damages are small but the ruling increases headline and litigation risk across many pending suits and could force product or regulatory changes that hit engagement/ads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and geopolitical pressures: a tech sector selloff (Nasdaq weakness, Iran war worries) and legal blows to peers like Meta have amplified outflows from large cap tech, pressuring GOOG along with the group. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider moves and high‑profile position trims (reported sales and some billionaire reductions) add selling pressure and headline risk in the near term. Read More.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.5%

GOOG stock opened at $273.76 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $350.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $312.93 and a 200-day moving average of $295.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Alphabet 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.