Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,264 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,264 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Searle & CO. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 7,997 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband with Stonepeak as majority owner while Alphabet keeps a minority stake — this monetizes Google’s fiber asset, reduces future capex burden and leaves Alphabet with upside exposure to a larger independent broadband operator. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Expanding Horizons: AI, Cloud, and Broadband Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Gemini AI is being added to Google Maps via “Ask Maps,” increasing product differentiation and engagement across a high-traffic app — a direct example of AI driving user value and monetization opportunities. Google (GOOGL) Adds Its Gemini AI Model to Google Maps to Allow More Detailed Questions
• Positive Sentiment: Google completed the acquisition of Wiz (~$32B), strengthening cloud security offerings — a strategic tuck-in that can help win larger enterprise cloud deals and justify higher cloud multiple over time. Google Just Closed Its $32 Billion Wiz Deal. How Should You Play GOOGL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Google changed Android billing rules, cut developer fees and resolved the Epic/Fortnite dispute — removing a legal overhang and improving developer economics for Play Store, which supports long-term app revenue resilience. Google (GOOGL) App Store Brings Back Fortnite, Changes Fee Structure
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain supportive — recent coverage highlights strong Q4 results, cash-rich balance sheet and a consensus “Buy” tilt with several elevated price targets. This underpins medium-term investor confidence. Alphabet Q4: A Fairly Valued Tech Titan To Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and options flow show heightened bullish conviction around Gemini and cloud, but this is sentiment-driven and can amplify short-term volatility rather than change fundamentals. Alphabet Stock (GOOG) Opinions on Gemini AI Advancements
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data in feeds appears noisy/invalid and does not signal a meaningful squeeze or covering dynamic at present.
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. regulator warnings on protecting children online increase the risk of tighter rules and compliance costs for big tech — a regulatory backdrop that could pressure valuations if enforcement or new rules accelerate. Big tech given warning – and deadline – by UK regulator

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial raised Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. This trade represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,112,493 shares of company stock worth $118,605,094 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $301.46 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $319.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

About Alphabet

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.