Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 333,562 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,015 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Stephens Inc. AR’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $81,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 370 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% in the third quarter. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the third quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.0% during the third quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong commercial traction for Gemini AI — reports show a surge in sales of Gemini models, supporting Alphabet’s AI revenue thesis and cloud monetization outlook. Google Sees Surge in Sales of Gemini AI Models
• Positive Sentiment: Usage growth: Gemini API calls have more than doubled in recent months, indicating rising developer and enterprise adoption that should help drive ad and cloud revenue over time. Gemini Usage Explodes as API Calls More than Double in Five Months
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness: several analysts raised targets this week (examples: UBS $345, RBC to $375, BofA $370), reinforcing upside expectations tied to AI advertising and cloud momentum. New Analyst Forecast: $GOOGL Given $345 Price Target RBC Raises Alphabet (GOOGL) Target on AI Advertising Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector moves: Goldman and other banks are broadly boosting tech price targets, a tailwind for sentiment but not an immediate catalyst for price action. Goldman Sachs Raising Price Targets 10%+ on Tech and Financial Blue Chip Giants
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive longer-term narrative: multiple pieces highlight strong Q4 results, a large AI-driven cloud backlog and historical shareholder returns, supporting a constructive medium-term case. Investors’ Confidence Boosted Alphabet (GOOG) in Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk: President Trump’s tariff rhetoric (Greenland) and EU tariff talk spurred a tech-led selloff that pressured GOOG alongside peers — a short-term headwind unrelated to fundamentals. NVDA, GOOGL, AMZN: Trump’s Greenland Gambit Rattles Big Tech as EU Weighs Salvo
• Negative Sentiment: Outperformance fade / profit-taking: coverage noted Alphabet fell more than the broader market today, reflecting profit-taking after strong 2025 gains. Here’s Why Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Fell More Than Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Isomorphic Labs delay: Google-backed drug-discovery unit pushed its first clinical trials to late 2026, trimming a speculative long-term upside driver. Google-backed AI drug discovery startup Isomorphic Labs delays clinical trial timeline
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling highlighted by data services (large recent insider disposals) can amplify short-term caution among some investors. New Analyst Forecast: $GOOGL Given $345 Price Target (insider data)

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 192,687 shares of company stock valued at $58,728,068. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.5%

GOOG stock opened at $322.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $313.45 and a 200-day moving average of $258.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $341.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were 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 was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GOOG. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Loop Capital raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.97.

About Alphabet

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.