Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Reduced by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,681 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.0% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $56,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 239.7% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,198,000 after acquiring an additional 44,546 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% during the second quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 113,605 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $20,236,000 after acquiring an additional 18,130 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $206,542,000 after acquiring an additional 42,028 shares during the period. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 14,709 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,656,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price (up from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.71.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $273.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $312.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $350.15.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is deepening its AI infrastructure ties by backing a massive Texas data‑center project to be leased by Anthropic — a strategic move that secures capacity for large AI models and strengthens a key partner relationship. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been raising targets: Needham and other analysts have issued $400+/high‑3xx targets and firms like Wells Fargo raised theirs recently — supporting medium‑term upside narratives despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: recent quarterly beats, accelerating Google Cloud backlog (~$240B reported), and rapid Gemini adoption underpin revenue visibility and long‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Research’s TurboQuant memory‑compression work has spooked memory suppliers but can be a net positive for Alphabet — lower AI infrastructure costs and greater model efficiency improve margins and competitive positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is in a correction from its highs and some commentators frame the selloff as a buying opportunity; price action below key short‑term supports is increasing volatility but not yet changing the longer‑term bull case. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensified after a high‑profile jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction bellwether case — the direct damages are small but the ruling increases headline and litigation risk across many pending suits and could force product or regulatory changes that hit engagement/ads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and geopolitical pressures: a tech sector selloff (Nasdaq weakness, Iran war worries) and legal blows to peers like Meta have amplified outflows from large cap tech, pressuring GOOG along with the group. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider moves and high‑profile position trims (reported sales and some billionaire reductions) add selling pressure and headline risk in the near term. Read More.

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.