Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 13,879 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 10.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 152,439 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,879 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.7% of Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $37,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the third quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 4,228 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the third quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the third quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Kooman & Associates lifted its position in Alphabet by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 1,343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.48, for a total value of $9,213,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,337,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,526,494.12. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,832.60. This trade represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 222,297 shares of company stock valued at $68,531,851 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer praised Alphabet as “extraordinary,” reinforcing investor enthusiasm around the company’s AI leadership and growth narrative. Alphabet (GOOGL)’s extraordinary, says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Google is pushing product-level AI gains — adding image-generation to Chrome and a virtual assistant side panel — which supports ad/search monetization and user engagement upside. Google adds AI image generation to Chrome browser, side panel option for virtual assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is accelerating strategic AI acquisitions and deals to bolster Gemini across media, voice and international markets — a sign management is doubling down on defensible AI distribution. Google Accelerates AI Deals to Strengthen Gemini in Media and Voice
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms reiterated buy ratings and upgrades for GOOGL this week, supporting near-term demand from momentum-driven investors. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest entries show effectively zero reported short positions in the latest filings, but the data appears to contain anomalies (NaN/0) and is not a clear market signal. (internal short-interest data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews expect earnings growth for the upcoming report, which could set the stage for another beat if AI ad/cloud momentum continues. Alphabet (GOOGL) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Google says it disrupted a major residential proxy network (IPIDEA), removing domains and protecting “millions” of devices — a reputational win demonstrating security capabilities and reducing operational risk. Google disrupts large residential proxy network, reducing devices used by operators by ‘millions’
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition & Markets Authority proposed rules forcing Google to give publishers opt-outs for AI summaries and greater transparency — this raises content licensing and product constraints in a major market. UK regulator proposes changes to Google search for publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure in the EU and U.K. (DMA guidance, proposed conduct rules) could force data/access sharing and limit some search/AI advantages — a structural risk to margins and competitive moat. U.K. Competition Watchdog Plans New Rules for Google’s AI Overviews Under Tech Law
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to a $135 million settlement over handling of cellular data, which includes changes to Play Store and Android setup screens — a modest direct hit but adds regulatory/legal costs and operational change. Google to Pay $135 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Handling of Cellular Data

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $336.01 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $340.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $318.48 and a 200-day moving average of $263.38. The company has a market cap of $4.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. New Street Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $275.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 24th. Loop Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $320.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citic Securities upped their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-two have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.60.

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.