Financial Advocates Investment Management Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Financial Advocates Investment Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,052 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,001 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 100.0% in the second quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $302.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $350.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $321.41 and its 200 day moving average is $277.73.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $343.90.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google I/O set for May 19–20; company is widely expected to unveil its first smart AI glasses later in 2026 — a new hardware/AI catalyst that could expand monetization and ecosystem stickiness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud momentum remains a growth engine — recent reports highlight ~48% cloud revenue growth and expanding backlog, supporting upside to long‑term revenue and enterprise AI demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buyers also showed conviction — Royal Bank of Canada added materially (~21% increase) to its GOOGL position in recent 13F filings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo faced congressional scrutiny over remote assistance but defended its practices and said remote agents haven’t been used to move robotaxis on public roads — regulatory risk remains watchable but not immediate earnings pressure. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts and outlets are cautious/neutral on near‑term upside (Monness and others maintain neutral views), reflecting profit‑taking after a strong run. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple high‑profile investors trimmed GOOGL in recent 13F filings — notable reductions include Ameriprise, First Pacific Advisors, Northern Trust and Veritas, signaling institutional rebalancing that can add selling pressure. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile managers also signaled reduced exposure — Bill Ackman trimmed his Alphabet position and Terry Smith reportedly cut his stake roughly in half, a negative sentiment signal for momentum investors. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: MarketBeat and other commentary point to short‑term selling tied to expected heavy CapEx (AI compute & data center buildout) and broader software/tech rotation — investors are treating higher capex guidance as a near‑term earnings/valuation headwind despite long‑term upside. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 933 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.55, for a total value of $314,001.15. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,337,229.80. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $34,680.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,380. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,032,408 shares of company stock valued at $94,926,707. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.