Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Farallon Capital Management LLC

Farallon Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,120,940 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 640,900 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.1% of Farallon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Farallon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $273,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,298,572,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,182,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,388,775,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 17,547.9% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $731,331,000 after acquiring an additional 4,099,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,580,469.82. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,076,615 shares of company stock worth $107,809,111 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

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

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $301.46 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $350.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $319.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share 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 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. 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 is 7.77%.

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.