Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $24.88 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,156 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,257 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.8% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $73,927,821,000 after purchasing an additional 5,182,111 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,914,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,511,477,000 after buying an additional 2,428,266 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 580,897.4% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 135,087,705 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $23,963,208,000 after acquiring an additional 135,064,454 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 107,760,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,022,926,000 after acquiring an additional 441,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 35,357,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,272,146,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117,990 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 192,087 shares of company stock worth $58,525,556. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOG. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $318.36.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $336.43 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $341.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple chose Google’s Gemini to power next‑generation Siri, creating a multi‑year licensing relationship that provides Google a large, high‑margin cloud customer and distribution into ~2bn Apple devices—an immediate revenue and strategic moat boost. Google and Apple enter into multi-year AI deal for Gemini models
• Positive Sentiment: Market optimism around AI and stronger cloud execution pushed Alphabet into the $4 trillion valuation club, reinforcing investor confidence that Gemini and Google Cloud can materially reshape growth and margins. Alphabet hits $4 trillion valuation as AI refocus lifts sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and sell‑side shops are raising targets and reiterating the bull case (TD Cowen raised its target to $355 and Jefferies highlighted the company’s data moat and cloud upside), supporting near‑term buy interest. TD Cowen raises price target Jefferies: data moat & cloud growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning and option flows show some traders view GOOG as still relatively undervalued to analyst targets; short‑dated put selling has been productive, which can moderate volatility but also signals crowded bullish positioning. Put yields and undervaluation note
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet plans to develop and manufacture high‑end smartphones in Vietnam this year—a strategic supply‑chain/production move that diversifies hardware execution but is not an immediate earnings driver. Google to develop, manufacture phones in Vietnam
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and analysts warn valuation is stretched after a strong 2025 rally; several notes have shifted from “strong buy” to “buy” citing compressed upside and that much of the AI upside may already be priced in. Seeking Alpha: downgrade to Buy on valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Some funds trimmed GOOGL holdings in recent filings (reported reductions by a few managers), which could add selling pressure if larger managers follow suit; public criticism from industry figures (e.g., Elon Musk) adds headline noise but is unlikely to change fundamentals. Fund filing: Davenport trims GOOGL Musk criticizes Apple‑Google deal

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.