NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 10,609 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,609 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 145.0% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 196 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 56.8% in the third quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 218 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $301.46 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $319.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband with Stonepeak as majority owner while Alphabet keeps a minority stake — this monetizes Google’s fiber asset, reduces future capex burden and leaves Alphabet with upside exposure to a larger independent broadband operator. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Expanding Horizons: AI, Cloud, and Broadband Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Gemini AI is being added to Google Maps via “Ask Maps,” increasing product differentiation and engagement across a high-traffic app — a direct example of AI driving user value and monetization opportunities. Google (GOOGL) Adds Its Gemini AI Model to Google Maps to Allow More Detailed Questions
• Positive Sentiment: Google completed the acquisition of Wiz (~$32B), strengthening cloud security offerings — a strategic tuck-in that can help win larger enterprise cloud deals and justify higher cloud multiple over time. Google Just Closed Its $32 Billion Wiz Deal. How Should You Play GOOGL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Google changed Android billing rules, cut developer fees and resolved the Epic/Fortnite dispute — removing a legal overhang and improving developer economics for Play Store, which supports long-term app revenue resilience. Google (GOOGL) App Store Brings Back Fortnite, Changes Fee Structure
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain supportive — recent coverage highlights strong Q4 results, cash-rich balance sheet and a consensus “Buy” tilt with several elevated price targets. This underpins medium-term investor confidence. Alphabet Q4: A Fairly Valued Tech Titan To Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and options flow show heightened bullish conviction around Gemini and cloud, but this is sentiment-driven and can amplify short-term volatility rather than change fundamentals. Alphabet Stock (GOOG) Opinions on Gemini AI Advancements
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data in feeds appears noisy/invalid and does not signal a meaningful squeeze or covering dynamic at present.
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. regulator warnings on protecting children online increase the risk of tighter rules and compliance costs for big tech — a regulatory backdrop that could pressure valuations if enforcement or new rules accelerate. Big tech given warning – and deadline – by UK regulator

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $345.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total transaction of $9,859,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,674,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total value of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.