Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Ransom Advisory Ltd’s 6th Largest Position

Ransom Advisory Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,583 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,761 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.5% of Ransom Advisory Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Ransom Advisory Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,388,775,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,929 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 17,547.9% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $731,331,000 after buying an additional 4,099,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 330.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,989,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $707,691,000 after buying an additional 3,062,590 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DeepMind hires Bridgewater’s chief scientist Jasjeet Sekhon — a high‑profile talent win that strengthens Alphabet’s AI research and commercial credentials versus rivals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud + CVS launch “Health100” using Gemini models — expands Gemini into consumer healthcare (pharmacy, insurance, wearables) and creates a potential recurring revenue stream for cloud/AI services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Stitch “vibe design” update is drawing real competition away from incumbents (Figma/Adobe) — suggests faster AI‑driven product monetization and market expansion for developer/designer tools. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google struck agreements with five U.S. utilities to curb data‑center power use at peak demand — reduces brownout/cost risk for data‑center expansion and supports more predictable AI operations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is pursuing Pentagon contracts (coverage and video reports) — potential contract upside but comes with employee/PR controversy given industry disputes; outcome is uncertain for near‑term revenue. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Supply‑chain/geopolitical risk: reports that Alphabet is increasing use of Chinese suppliers for advanced liquid cooling raise export‑control and political risks for global AI builds. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Sundar Pichai and several directors have disclosed recent SEC‑filed share sales — repeated large insider sales can spook short‑term sentiment even if they are scheduled or for diversification. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader valuation/capex concern: commentary on massive hyperscaler AI capex and uncertain timing of returns is pressuring multiples across cloud/AI names, including Alphabet. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.3%

GOOG stock opened at $298.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $317.66 and its 200 day moving average is $293.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10. 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 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.