Diversified Trust Co. Lowers Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Diversified Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 286,156 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,083 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.6% of Diversified Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Diversified Trust Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $89,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $984,000. Post Resch Tallon Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TABR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $274.34 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $349.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $313.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. 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%. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises reinforce bullish medium-term views — Wells Fargo raised its price target and kept an Overweight rating, and Needham reaffirmed its Buy with a $400 target; MarketBeat and other outlets note heavy analyst upgrading of GOOGL. These moves support upside expectations despite short-term weakness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI innovation (TurboQuant / Gemini traction) is being framed as a competitive advantage — the company’s new compression research and Gemini adoption could lower AI operating costs and drive product differentiation, strengthening long-term revenue prospects. This is part of why some analysts lifted estimates and price targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain solid: recent earnings beat, robust cloud growth and advertising resilience provide a valuation anchor and a reason many institutions view pullbacks as buying opportunities. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical correction — the stock has moved below $300 and broken key short-term support, which can amplify volatility even if the longer-term trend stays intact; investors should watch $280–$260 support zones. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive departure in India: Google’s top India counsel resigned amid ongoing regulatory challenges in a key market, a factor to monitor for regional regulatory execution but not an immediate earnings driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark jury verdicts finding YouTube/Google liable in social-media addiction cases have created legal overhang and the possibility of broader litigation or regulatory exposure — courts and commentators compare potential fallout to past “Big Tobacco”-style settlements, increasing perceived legal risk for Alphabet. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: New lawsuits allege Google’s search/AI features disclosed personal information of Jeffrey Epstein victims; such privacy/AI-related claims add another legal/regulatory headline that can pressure sentiment and increase potential litigation costs or product changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech selloff — geopolitical war worries and landmark Meta legal losses have sparked rotation out of large-cap tech this week, amplifying Alphabet’s decline despite company-specific strengths. Market risk sentiment is a near-term headwind. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. President Capital upped their price target on Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus increased their target price on Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Arete Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.06.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.