Main Street Research LLC Acquires 2,499 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Main Street Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,499 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.9% of Main Street Research LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $72,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $21,944,208,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 17,667.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,686,640,000 after buying an additional 15,159,273 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,817,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,607,232,000 after buying an additional 10,843,853 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after acquiring an additional 6,874,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 9th. New Street Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.18.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.4%

GOOGL opened at $302.28 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $349.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $319.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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 company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major competitor Meta has delayed a next‑generation AI release and reportedly discussed temporarily licensing Google’s Gemini model, which could help Alphabet expand usage/licensing of its AI stack and win incremental share. Meta delays release; may license Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a “buy” on GOOGL and set a $400 price target (~32% upside from current levels), which can support investor confidence and buying interest. Needham reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight Meta falling behind on large AI models (and considering licensing Google tech), reinforcing the view that Google could capture market share in foundational models and services. Meta falling behind — Yahoo
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Alphabet’s earnings growth and price strength as reasons to watch GOOGL, supporting a constructive fundamental view after recent results. Zacks: earnings growth & price strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Google, Amazon and Meta pushing their own AI chips signals a structural shift in AI infrastructure — a long‑term positive if Google’s stack wins, but it intensifies competition with incumbents like NVIDIA and may pressure margins/capex. AI chips competition — Yahoo
• Neutral Sentiment: Google sold a partial stake in its GFiber unit and partnered to form a new independent fiber provider; this reduces direct capital burden but also trims ownership of the broadband growth asset. GFiber stake sale — CNBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/PR note: Google named its London HQ “Platform 37” referencing DeepMind/AlphaGo success — modestly positive for culture/AI branding but not material to near‑term financials. Platform 37 naming — Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator and wider regulatory scrutiny on tech safety and child protection remain overhangs for Big Tech, including Alphabet, since new rules or enforcement could increase compliance costs or constrain certain services. UK regulator warning — Sky

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total value of $184,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,325,999.52. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.