Phoenix Financial Ltd. Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Phoenix Financial Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 899,886 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 101,009 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.9% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $218,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 400.0% in the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total value of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,163,524.48. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,037,964 shares of company stock worth $95,259,727. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waymo’s new $16B funding round values the unit at ~$126B, cementing a path to monetize autonomous driving outside core ads and adding a material optionality premium to Alphabet. Waymo valued at $126 billion in latest financing
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is landing multi‑year AI deals (Liberty Global) and enterprise deployments (Humana), supporting near‑term revenue growth and Gemini monetization into customers. Google Cloud, Liberty Global strike five-year AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is planning a major expansion in India to hire talent and scale operations, which can lower talent costs and support faster global product rollouts. Alphabet plans major India expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised targets and some funds added to positions, signaling continued institutional conviction in AI/search/cloud upside. Top Mizuho Analyst Raises Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Price Target Ahead of Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are due after the close Feb. 4; Street models show ~15% revenue growth and meaningful expectations for AI monetization — the report will likely be the primary near‑term driver. Alphabet Q4 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets price a sizable post‑earnings swing (implied move ~6%+), increasing short‑term volatility regardless of directional bias. Options Market Implied Move Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and some institutional selling (including a CAO sale disclosed this week) is weighing on sentiment—persistent insider sales can amplify worries around valuation. SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk resurfaced as the DOJ and states will appeal a prior ruling in the search antitrust case—this keeps legal overhang on the stock. Justice Department to Appeal Antitrust Ruling
• Negative Sentiment: High valuation commentary and coverage warning of a near‑term pullback if AI monetization or ad growth disappoints — expectations are elevated. Valuation and pullback concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Operational reminders such as the Disney/YouTube TV carriage hit highlight distribution risks for YouTube-related businesses. YouTube TV distribution hit

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $340.70 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $321.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.04.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up previously from $336.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.83.

About Alphabet

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.