Ruffer LLP Sells 314,396 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Ruffer LLP cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 93.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,450 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 314,396 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 516,559,609 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $91,033,300,000 after buying an additional 6,733,278 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,524,841,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 141,615,284 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 4,224,497 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,944,208,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,151,820 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,780,875,000 after acquiring an additional 503,306 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alphabet from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. China Renaissance boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $260.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.64.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets — Arete and New Street recently raised price targets (to $405 and $380 respectively), underscoring continued buy-side conviction around Alphabet’s AI and cloud leadership. Arete Research Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud monetization and AI demand remain strong — recent coverage highlights robust Cloud revenue growth and improving profitability from AI workstreams, supporting longer‑term revenue trajectory. Google Cloud Is Turning AI Demand Into Profits
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo product rollout advances — Waymo began deploying sixth‑generation Ojai robotaxis, which the company says are lower‑cost and more weather‑capable, a tangible execution milestone for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit. Waymo Begins Deploying Next‑Gen Ojai Robotaxis
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support — Some major firms (e.g., JPMorgan) are reiterating buy views, which can help stabilize sentiment after short‑term weakness. JPMorgan Chase Reiterates Buy Rating for Alphabet
• Neutral Sentiment: Century bond drew strong demand — Alphabet’s rare 100‑year bond saw heavy uptake (pension buyers), providing low‑cost financing for AI capex but raising debate about long‑dated debt risks. Investors view this as both a funding positive and a longer‑term leverage concern. Why Alphabet’s 100‑Year Bond Is Raising New Fears
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust probe into search ad auctions — Regulators in Europe have opened inquiries into Google’s sale of search ads, a regulatory risk that could pressure ad economics or require product changes if enforcement follows. Google Targeted by EU Over Search Ad Auction Practices
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy 2026 capex plan fuels profit‑and‑monetization fears — Coverage highlights a $175B–$185B capex plan for AI infrastructure; that large spend profile is creating near‑term free‑cash‑flow and margin anxiety, which has been cited as a reason for recent share weakness. Alphabet Drops 7% Post Q4 Earnings

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

GOOGL opened at $309.00 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $349.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $321.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,067,086 shares of company stock valued at $105,184,255. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.