Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Bought by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,874 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,084 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $4,298,572,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 17,547.9% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $731,331,000 after purchasing an additional 4,099,366 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Alphabet by 330.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,989,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $707,691,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,590 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $306.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.59. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $350.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $34,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,380. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.55, for a total transaction of $314,001.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,337,229.80. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,069,864 shares of company stock worth $105,985,041. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s results and AI traction remain strong: Cloud revenue and enterprise backlog are accelerating and Gemini user metrics/support drive upside to long‑term monetization. Zacks: The Zacks Analyst Alphabet…
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo deployment of next‑gen robotaxis signals commercial progress for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit, a longer‑term growth catalyst. CNBC: Waymo begins deploying next‑gen Ojai robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Some large asset managers are net buying while others trimmed positions — BNP Paribas added a multi‑million share position in GOOG, offsetting other institutional reductions. QuiverQuant: BNP Paribas fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in recent feeds show zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so shorting activity is not a clear driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet completed a very large multi‑currency debt offering (including long‑dated tranches/century bond reports), which has spooked some investors worried about aggressive debt‑funded CapEx and the lack of customary bond protections. Reuters: Alphabet bonds’ lack of guardrails…
• Negative Sentiment: Management guided 2026 CapEx sharply higher (~$175–$185B), and the market has treated that as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwind risk despite its AI rationale — this contributed to post‑earnings weakness. Zacks: Alphabet drops 7% post Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust scrutiny has resurfaced: regulators are probing Google’s search‑ads auction/pricing practices in Europe, introducing regulatory risk for ad monetization. Reuters: Google targeted by EU over search advertising auction practices
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional trimming reported in 13F updates (e.g., Neuberger, Swiss National Bank saw reductions), which can pressure intraday liquidity/psychology even as other funds add exposure. QuiverQuant: Neuberger Berman fund update

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective (up previously from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $343.90.

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.