Riverbridge Partners LLC Decreases Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Riverbridge Partners LLC lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 301,580 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,760 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.8% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $94,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 19,067 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,968,000 after purchasing an additional 4,702 shares during the period. CPA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $188,000. NatWest Group plc lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 103,259 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $32,320,000 after buying an additional 14,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 64,170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,085,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, March 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.06.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total transaction of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,818,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,092,234 shares of company stock valued at $112,487,971 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out Veo 3.1 Lite, a lower‑cost video AI model aimed at broadening developer adoption by delivering similar speed at under half the cost versus premium models — a direct product push that could expand AI usage and cloud/compute revenue. Google Unveils Cheaper AI Video Model to Expand Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction was aided by a geopolitical tailwind: shares jumped after reports President Trump signaled a willingness to end the multi‑week conflict with Iran, reducing risk‑off pressure on mega‑cap tech stocks. Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy on GOOGL with a $400 price target, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment and providing an upside anchor for investors. Needham Reiterates Buy on Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) With $400 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Reports show high‑profile investors adding to positions (e.g., Stanley Druckenmiller), and coverage that highlights Alphabet as a core AI/cloud compounder — both support demand and sentiment. Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller Piled Into 2 of the Hottest AI Stocks for a Second Consecutive Quarter
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet remains featured in thematic AI/cloud roundups (cloud backlog growth and strong Q4 cloud revenue cited), underscoring long‑term structural demand even as near‑term volatility persists. 5 Cloud and AI Infrastructure Stocks Powering the Next Wave of AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet issued very long‑dated debt (100‑year issuance), a financing move that locks cheap funding long‑term but has mixed near‑term implications for capital allocation. Alphabet Taps Debt Markets With 100-Year Issuance
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/UX updates around Gmail and crypto wallet integrations were highlighted in recent coverage; this flags product complexity in crypto flows but is not yet a clear revenue catalyst. New Gmail update highlights major crypto wallet struggle
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Indonesia summoned Google over non‑compliance with new child social media curbs, highlighting widening global regulatory scrutiny that could increase compliance costs or product restrictions abroad. Indonesia summons Meta and Google over non-compliance with child social media curbs, minister says
• Negative Sentiment: Publishers such as Future PLC blamed recent Google search changes for pressure on higher‑margin ad revenues, a reminder that platform shifts can disrupt partners and attract criticism/regulatory attention. Future shares flop on profit warning as Google search changes hit ad revenues

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $287.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $311.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The business 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%. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.