DAVENPORT & Co LLC Lowers Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 794,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 170,329 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.3% of DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $248,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Corsicana & Co. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $274.34 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $313.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $349.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. New Street Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. China Renaissance upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.06.

Key Alphabet News

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.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.