Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Provident Trust Co.

Provident Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,428,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,698 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 13.9% of Provident Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $834,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $338.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $320.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.24. 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 $4.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.09. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $342.29.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google’s new Project Genie AI model — which can turn short prompts into fully rendered, playable 3D worlds and characters — is being viewed as a strategic win for Alphabet’s AI leadership and platform reach; the announcement spooked game developers but signals a new product avenue for Google that could expand ads, cloud consumption and developer tools. Videogame stocks slide on Google’s AI model that turns prompts into playable worlds
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note expects Alphabet to beat Q4 revenue and EPS as AI lifts ads and cloud demand — a direct fundamental rationale for upside to near-term earnings and investor estimates. Alphabet Could Power Past Forecasts As AI Lifts Ads, Cloud: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying: Vanguard reportedly added material GOOGL exposure in its latest filing, which supports demand for the shares from big passive/active holders. Fund Update: VANGUARD GROUP INC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Google disrupted a major residential proxy network used by bad actors, a security move that reduces abuse risk across its ecosystem and is a modest reputational/operational positive. Google disrupts large residential proxy network, reducing devices used by operators by ‘millions’
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focused on Q4 guidance and key metric estimates ahead of earnings; expectations and guidance will likely drive short-term moves more than some headlines. Ahead of Alphabet (GOOGL) Q4 Earnings: Get Ready With Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Profile/endorsement notes: coverage pieces and fund letters (e.g., Giverny Capital mention, Tim Cook comments on partnership) keep sentiment visible but are unlikely to move the tape materially on their own. Alphabet (GOOG) Contributed 4.7% to Giverny Capital Asset Management’s 2025 Growth
• Negative Sentiment: A former Google engineer was convicted of stealing AI trade secrets and uploading internal materials to personal cloud accounts — a legal/security headwind that raises concerns about IP protection and could prompt tighter controls and scrutiny. Former Google engineer found guilty of espionage and theft of AI tech
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo involvement in a pedestrian incident has triggered an NHTSA probe; regulatory/safety risks around Waymo’s rollout remain a potential liability and source of short-term volatility for Alphabet. A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school. The NHTSA is investigating

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total transaction of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,163,524.48. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $34,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,307 shares in the company, valued at $6,224,380. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,070,485 shares of company stock valued at $104,428,169 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet 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.