Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,704 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,510 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,704 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.7% of Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 4,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.71.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and outlets highlight Alphabet’s large payoff potential from its early SpaceX stake, which investors view as a material latent asset that could boost GAAP value if SpaceX goes public. Alphabet (GOOGL) Could Score a $100B+ Payday from SpaceX IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage emphasizes the same theme — Google’s SpaceX stake could be worth more than most public companies, a narrative that supports a higher valuation multiple for GOOG. Google’s stake in SpaceX could be worth more than most companies on the planet
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: analysts have raised targets and put Alphabet on catalyst watches ahead of events and Q1 earnings, fueling bullish positioning. Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) Opinions on Analyst Price Target Increases
• Positive Sentiment: Citi boosted its price target and kept a Buy rating ahead of Q1, reinforcing the buy-side narrative into earnings and product events. Wall Street sets Google stock price target for the next 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial AI traction: new partnerships and product launches (Cadence optimizing chip design on Google Cloud; Thoma Bravo deal to bring AI to a large software portfolio; Gemini app for Mac; Chrome “AI skills” rollout) strengthen revenue and cloud backlog outlook. Cadence and Google Collaborate to Scale AI-Driven Chip Design with ChipStack AI Super Agent on Google Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: Some funds trimmed GOOG in recent 13F updates (various institutional sales), which may reflect portfolio rebalancing rather than conviction changes; keep an eye on large-scale flows. Fund Update: Douglas Lane & Associates, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risk: Alphabet faces a new antitrust suit from rival app store Aptoide and a separate report of mass arbitration claims tied to ad tech/search rulings — these are headline risks that could pressure sentiment or lead to fines/costs. Google sued by rival app store Aptoide over alleged monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Large-scale arbitration exposure reported (~$218B) tied to ad tech/search rulings — while the figure is headline-grabbing, resolution outcomes and timing remain uncertain and could create volatility. Alphabet Faces $218 Billion Mass Arbitration Claims Over Ad Tech And Search Rulings
• Negative Sentiment: Competition risk: OpenAI’s move into digital ads is an emerging threat to Google’s core ad franchise and is being watched by investors. OpenAI Pushes Into Digital Ads, Setting Up New Competition with Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta (META)

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $334.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $305.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.40 and a 12 month high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during 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%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS 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 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 was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,068,744 shares of company stock worth $104,505,914 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.