Sheets Smith Wealth Management Purchases 2,228 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 16.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,228 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,182 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,604,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 6.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,025,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $249,323,000 after acquiring an additional 61,862 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74,507 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,113,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum and 2025 strength: Coverage highlights that Alphabet’s AI launches and product moves (Gemini, model upgrades) helped lift ad and cloud monetization, driving a banner 2025 that underpins bullish investor views. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade flow: Some sell‑side shops have raised targets (notably a Citizens JMP upgrade to $385), which can attract buying interest and support the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Firm buy-side / retail interest: Multiple investor pieces list Alphabet as a top 2026 AI/capital‑allocation idea due to its distribution edge, cloud growth and end‑to‑end AI stack. That narrative is helping demand from advisors and retail channels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational moves (energy / Intersect Power): Alphabet’s purchases of energy and data‑center power capacity are strategically important for scale but are longer‑dated benefits for EPS. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed coverage amid the Intersect Power story. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Emerging tech exposure (quantum): Market commentary positions Alphabet as a lower‑risk way to get quantum exposure versus pure‑play names — relevant for strategic, longer‑term investors rather than a near‑term catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Large disclosed sales (John Kent Walker sold ~17,829 shares; director Frances Arnold also sold) may create near‑term selling pressure or signal tax/planning activity that investors watch. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx and margin risk: Analysts warn heavy AI infrastructure spending across hyperscalers could pressure near‑term free cash flow and margins, a key risk for valuation if spending outpaces revenue conversion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal noise: Ongoing reporting about DOJ probes and policy scrutiny adds an overhang that can dent sentiment if enforcement escalates. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. China Renaissance lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $207.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.76.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.48, for a total value of $9,213,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,337,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,526,494.12. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total value of $800,786.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. The trade was a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 192,687 shares of company stock valued at $56,255,711 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $313.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $300.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.55. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $328.83.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

About Alphabet

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.