Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Vulcan Value Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,100,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 650,058 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 4.9% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $268,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after buying an additional 5,182,111 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Alphabet by 73.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,388,775,000 after buying an additional 4,154,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 17,547.9% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $731,331,000 after acquiring an additional 4,099,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.55, for a total transaction of $314,001.15. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,337,229.80. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,112,482 shares of company stock worth $119,145,289 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Alphabet, a near-term buy-side catalyst that can boost sentiment and trading demand. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights underappreciated assets (14% stake in Anthropic, early SpaceX stake, global device reach) that add upside optionality beyond Search/Cloud — a narrative that supports a higher multiple if Anthropic or SpaceX value inflection occurs. Alphabet’s Quiet Edge: The Hidden Assets Powering Its Run
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is consolidating robotics software unit Intrinsic into Google, trimming Other Bets complexity and accelerating product integration — likely cost/efficiency positive for margins and faster commercialization of physical AI. Former Alphabet ‘moonshot’ robotics company Intrinsic is folding into Google
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expanding testing to Chicago and Charlotte signals continued path to commercialization for robotaxis — a potential long-term revenue stream and optional upside. Waymo to begin testing in Chicago and Charlotte
• Positive Sentiment: Device wins: Samsung’s S26 showcases deeper Gemini integration (third‑party app control), extending distribution for Google’s AI — supportive for product monetization and data network effects. Samsung’s S26 gives an advance look at what the Google-powered Apple Siri could do
• Neutral Sentiment: Google plans to test changes to search layout in Europe to give rivals more prominence as a way to avoid a major EU fine — this shows proactive mitigation but underscores ongoing regulatory risk that could affect Search economics. Exclusive: Google to test changes to search results, source says as EU fine looms
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of a big increase in short-interest contain obvious data errors (0 shares / NaN) — treat as noise until corrected; not a reliable immediate signal. (data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: MIG Capital trimmed its Alphabet Class C stake—hedge‑fund selling can pressure price in the short term and prompt headline-driven flows. MIG Capital Cuts Alphabet Inc. Class C Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted insider selling tied to the broader “Magnificent Seven” net selling trend and a small reported stock dip — insider/ownership shifts can sap momentum and weigh on sentiment near-term. The “Magnificent Seven” Are Sending Shockwaves Through Wall Street With This $8.4 Billion Warning
• Negative Sentiment: A minor Russian court fine over VPN distribution and continued EU scrutiny are reminders that regulatory/legal costs and reputational risk remain a recurring headwind. Russia fines Google for distributing VPN services, TASS reports

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $313.03 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.87. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $350.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $343.90.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.