Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 7,990 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Capital Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 420,864 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,990 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.0% of Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $131,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $297.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $3.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $310.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $295.97. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued 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 yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. President Capital lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, New Street Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.06.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $397, citing growing opportunities to monetize Google Cloud — a direct positive for revenue growth and valuation expectations. Wells Fargo raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy with a $400 target, reinforcing buy-side analyst conviction and supporting upside narratives for the stock. Needham reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Veo 3.1 Lite — a lower‑cost AI video model — which should accelerate adoption of Google’s video AI tools and expand addressable market for cloud AI services. Google unveils cheaper AI video model
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/press reports that Google plans a screenless Fitbit band later this year — a small but positive product diversification play that could help hardware revenue and ecosystem engagement. Google readies screenless Fitbit
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets highlight recent analyst upgrades and buy-side interest (including a MarketBeat feature listing Alphabet among core AI/cloud plays), reinforcing momentum into mega‑caps when market breadth favors growth. MarketBeat AI cloud list
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and Benzinga pieces note Alphabet outpaced the market and benefited from broad sector strength — helpful context but not a company-specific fundamental change. Zacks: Outpaced market
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet issued long‑dated debt (including a 100‑year tranche), a signal of financing flexibility and confidence in cash flows; bond activity is generally neutral for near‑term equity moves but relevant for capital structure. Alphabet taps debt markets
• Negative Sentiment: Billionaire Ray Dalio trimmed his Alphabet stake — a headline that can stoke short‑term selling or be read as portfolio rebalancing by large holders. Dalio reduces position
• Negative Sentiment: Child development experts petitioned Google to block AI‑generated videos aimed at kids and Indonesia summoned Google over child social‑media rules — regulatory and content‑risk headlines that could pressure YouTube monetization and increase moderation costs. Experts urge Google on AI videos Indonesia summons Google

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,092,234 shares of company stock worth $112,487,971 over the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet 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.