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

Aristotle Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,696,400 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 354,196 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.7% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,387,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tradewinds LLC. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2,134.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,984,000 after purchasing an additional 43,080 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 31.3% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $86,345,000 after buying an additional 84,553 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% during the third quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,920,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,272,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $900,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOG. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Loop Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.71.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

Alphabet stock opened at $301.46 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $350.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $319.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.32. 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 capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total transaction of $184,038.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,624 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,999.52. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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

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.