Simplicity Wealth LLC Has $7.75 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Simplicity Wealth LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,809 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 16,309 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 4.2% in the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 145,153 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,749,000 after purchasing an additional 5,871 shares in the last quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the second quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 264,998 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,008,000 after purchasing an additional 8,346 shares during the last quarter. Overbrook Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.5% during the second quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 159,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,333,000 after purchasing an additional 17,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 15,092 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google says it disrupted one of the world’s largest residential proxy networks (IPIDEA), removing domains to protect “millions” of consumer devices — a security win that reduces abuse risk and is a PR positive for Google’s platform security. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI momentum: Chrome gained AI image-generation and a side-panel assistant; Google is accelerating M&A and deals to strengthen Gemini (media, voice, international) — supports growth and monetization cases for Search and Cloud. Article Title Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst & fund flows: KeyBanc raised its price target (to $360) citing AI and Cloud momentum; several fund 13F updates show net additions to GOOGL/GOOG positions (e.g., Migdal, Badgley Phelps). These signals help justify higher valuation expectations. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed fund flows: some large managers trimmed GOOGL positions (B. Metzler, Boston Trust Walden) while others added — underscores uneven institutional positioning into earnings. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feed are clearly erroneous (showing 0 shares/NaN); ignore as a signal — liquidity/volatility context remains normal heading into earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator proposed rules forcing Google to give publishers more control (opt-outs for AI summaries, citation/compensation measures) — could reduce content available for Google’s AI features and complicate product economics. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: EU/competition pressure: regulators are forcing data/access remedies (Digital Markets Act guidance, six‑month deadlines to open Android) that could limit Google’s control over Android and Search distribution—a potential long-term revenue/margin headwind. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Legal cost: Google agreed to pay $135M to settle a lawsuit over handling of cellular data and must change Play terms / Android setup screens — a modest one‑time cost but signals continuing regulatory/legal friction. Article Title

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $336.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $319.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.09. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $341.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up previously from $336.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total value of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,163,524.48. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total transaction 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 represents a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 225,075 shares of company stock worth $69,332,637 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.