Prudential PLC Buys 34,860 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 722,087 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,860 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.3% of Prudential PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $175,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its holdings in Alphabet by 26.0% during the third quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 18,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,430,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $188,000. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 6.8% during the third quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 11.6% in the third quarter. Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. now owns 88,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,503,000 after acquiring an additional 9,173 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total transaction of $184,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,999.52. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In 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 insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $301.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $319.36 and its 200-day moving average is $289.75.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.