Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Buys 13,356 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,142 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,356 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.6% of Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $51,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 594,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $105,540,000 after purchasing an additional 41,132 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.3% in the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 17.3% during the second quarter. RMR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

GOOG stock opened at $306.02 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.14. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $350.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $34,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,380. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.18, for a total value of $10,893,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,179,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,481,906.96. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,064,308 shares of company stock valued at $104,383,469. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s results and AI traction remain strong: Cloud revenue and enterprise backlog are accelerating and Gemini user metrics/support drive upside to long‑term monetization. Zacks: The Zacks Analyst Alphabet…
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo deployment of next‑gen robotaxis signals commercial progress for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit, a longer‑term growth catalyst. CNBC: Waymo begins deploying next‑gen Ojai robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Some large asset managers are net buying while others trimmed positions — BNP Paribas added a multi‑million share position in GOOG, offsetting other institutional reductions. QuiverQuant: BNP Paribas fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in recent feeds show zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so shorting activity is not a clear driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet completed a very large multi‑currency debt offering (including long‑dated tranches/century bond reports), which has spooked some investors worried about aggressive debt‑funded CapEx and the lack of customary bond protections. Reuters: Alphabet bonds’ lack of guardrails…
• Negative Sentiment: Management guided 2026 CapEx sharply higher (~$175–$185B), and the market has treated that as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwind risk despite its AI rationale — this contributed to post‑earnings weakness. Zacks: Alphabet drops 7% post Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust scrutiny has resurfaced: regulators are probing Google’s search‑ads auction/pricing practices in Europe, introducing regulatory risk for ad monetization. Reuters: Google targeted by EU over search advertising auction practices
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional trimming reported in 13F updates (e.g., Neuberger, Swiss National Bank saw reductions), which can pressure intraday liquidity/psychology even as other funds add exposure. QuiverQuant: Neuberger Berman fund update

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.