Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by First Financial Bankshares Inc

First Financial Bankshares Inc decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 704,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 21,379 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.4% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $220,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $277,696,000 after acquiring an additional 93,293 shares in the last quarter. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,902,000. Private Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,736,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 924,927 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $224,850,000 after acquiring an additional 72,235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google is reportedly in talks with Samsung to manufacture part of its next-generation TPU chip, a sign it is deepening control over AI hardware supply and potentially improving long-term margins. Google in talks with Samsung to make next-generation chips, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly premium subscription tier with perks like 10% cash back and free cancellations, showing Alphabet is working to turn autonomous driving into a recurring revenue business. Waymo launches a loyalty program with 10% cash back and free cancellations
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Alphabet, reinforcing confidence in the company’s profit outlook. Alphabet earnings estimate increases
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Alphabet as a long-term growth and AI beneficiary, with bullish commentary around cloud, Gemini, and the broader “agentic AI” opportunity. Alphabet: Now Is The Time To Raise Equity, Agentic AI Is Here (Rating Upgrade)
• Neutral Sentiment: Google said it identified an active Oracle PeopleSoft hacking campaign tied to ShinyHunters, which underscores cybersecurity concerns in the enterprise software ecosystem but is not a direct hit to Alphabet’s core business. Google says ShinyHunters hackers targeting education sector via Oracle exploit
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo also announced a national ad push and a broader effort to market its service, which may help growth but is too early to quantify. Waymo Readies First National Ads as Rivals and Critics Proliferate
• Negative Sentiment: A Google director resigned publicly over the company’s Pentagon-related AI work, adding reputational noise around governance and ethics. A Google director resigned over the company’s military deals
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced legal and product-related overhangs this week, including a denied retrial in the youth social media addiction case and reports of Gemini/Workspace service issues, which could weigh on sentiment. Update: Market Chatter: Google, Meta Platforms Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case by California Judge

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $357.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $359.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $330.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $460.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Alphabet Company 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.