DAVENPORT & Co LLC Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 11,192 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $90,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the third quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Searle & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective (up from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,914,730.12. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of Alphabet 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 sold a total of 2,110,165 shares of company stock worth $118,134,117 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $273.76 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is deepening its AI infrastructure ties by backing a massive Texas data‑center project to be leased by Anthropic — a strategic move that secures capacity for large AI models and strengthens a key partner relationship. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been raising targets: Needham and other analysts have issued $400+/high‑3xx targets and firms like Wells Fargo raised theirs recently — supporting medium‑term upside narratives despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: recent quarterly beats, accelerating Google Cloud backlog (~$240B reported), and rapid Gemini adoption underpin revenue visibility and long‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Research’s TurboQuant memory‑compression work has spooked memory suppliers but can be a net positive for Alphabet — lower AI infrastructure costs and greater model efficiency improve margins and competitive positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is in a correction from its highs and some commentators frame the selloff as a buying opportunity; price action below key short‑term supports is increasing volatility but not yet changing the longer‑term bull case. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensified after a high‑profile jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction bellwether case — the direct damages are small but the ruling increases headline and litigation risk across many pending suits and could force product or regulatory changes that hit engagement/ads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and geopolitical pressures: a tech sector selloff (Nasdaq weakness, Iran war worries) and legal blows to peers like Meta have amplified outflows from large cap tech, pressuring GOOG along with the group. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider moves and high‑profile position trims (reported sales and some billionaire reductions) add selling pressure and headline risk in the near term. Read More.

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.