Bender Robert & Associates Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Bender Robert & Associates lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,798 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 4.6% of Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,886,000 after purchasing an additional 806,681 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $379.64 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.49 and a fifty-two week high of $384.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $4.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 12.78 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $362.73.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and Cloud strength — Alphabet reported far‑above‑consensus EPS and revenue and disclosed a Google Cloud backlog near ~$468B, driving optimistic analyst revisions and momentum after the quarter. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades & higher price targets — Several firms raised targets and reiterated buy/outperform views (examples include JPMorgan, 24/7 Wall St. models projecting material upside, and a Citizens upgrade). These lifts support medium‑term upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large buyer activity — Mirae Asset reported a sizable addition to its GOOGL stake in recent 13F filings, signaling institutional demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic/geo-political relevance — Coverage notes Washington is increasingly focused on Google for national AI compute capacity, which could translate to long‑term government/business opportunities but also regulatory/oversight scrutiny. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo & mobility investments — Continued large funding and VC interest in Waymo highlight growth optionality beyond ads, but returns are long‑dated. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: AI ecosystem lift for semis and payments — Alphabet’s $190B AI buildout and agentic‑commerce themes boost broader AI infrastructure demand (beneficial for Google, but also benefits peers). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional trimming & profit‑taking — Some funds cut GOOG/GOOGL positions (State of Michigan reduced GOOGL; Manning & Napier and Yacktman trimmed stakes), consistent with profit‑taking after a big run. That pressure can cap near‑term gains. Read More. Read More.Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex guidance — Alphabet warned of a significant increase in 2027 capital spending tied to AI infrastructure, which can compress near‑term free cash flow and prompt some investors to take profits. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — A director sale was reported (small amount), a reminder some insiders are trimming exposure; typically immaterial alone but contributes to the day’s negative tape. Read More.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 191,053 shares of company stock valued at $58,845,206 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet 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.