Defender Capital LLC. Purchases New Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Defender Capital LLC. acquired a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,167 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,755,000. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.2% of Defender Capital LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $416,217,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 13.9% in the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,731 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,277,000 after acquiring an additional 7,180 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% in the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 1,457,732 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $256,896,000 after acquiring an additional 65,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,746 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $273.50 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $349.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Alphabet from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wedbush raised their price target on Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,092,336 shares of company stock valued at $112,519,943. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TurboQuant AI compression positions Alphabet to cut AI infrastructure costs and extend its AI leadership, which could boost margins and reduce dependence on memory suppliers. Alphabet Just Introduced Its Newest AI Advantage, and It’s Another Reason to Buy the Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst outlooks are supportive: a published price target increase to $397 signals upside from the sell-side and may provide buying interest. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Price Target Raised to $397.00
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy rating, reinforcing institutional support and potentially limiting downside as some funds watch analyst guidance. Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street and independent finance experts remain broadly positive on end‑of‑2026 price prospects, supporting medium-term investor confidence. Finance experts predict Google stock price for end of 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Last week’s near‑9% drop is partly market-driven (broader index weakness/geo‑political risk); however, Alphabet remains the top-performing Magnificent Seven name over 12 months and is the only peer above its 200‑day SMA — a mixed technical picture to monitor. After Falling Nearly 9% Last Week, Has Alphabet Lost Its Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Sundar Pichai’s routine, pre‑planned sale of shares resurfaced in headlines but aligns with his historical pattern and is unlikely to signal new negative insider activity. After Falling Nearly 9% Last Week, Has Alphabet Lost Its Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile personnel moves (a former Google CMO left with a large equity package; Apple hired a Google shopping exec) are noteworthy for talent flow but are not immediate earnings drivers. Meet the ex-Google CMO who quit with a seven-figure package by 28 Apple Recruits Google Shopping Exec to Lead AI Marketing
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark social‑media addiction verdict found YouTube negligent, raising litigation risk and regulatory attention that could increase legal costs or policy constraints over time. Meta and Google lost a major social media addiction lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Large portfolio moves by Ark Invest (sales of Alphabet shares) add selling pressure and can amplify downside during volatile sessions. Cathie Wood Going Cold On Big Tech? Ark Sells Nvidia, AMD, Meta And Google Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Poaching of senior product marketing talent by rivals (Apple) highlights competition for AI marketing expertise and could modestly pressure execution in consumer/ads initiatives. Apple Recruits Google Shopping Exec to Lead AI Marketing

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.