Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Purchased by Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.

Posted by Doug Wharley on Mar 16th, 2026

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,641 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $73,927,821,000 after buying an additional 5,182,111 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,914,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,511,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428,266 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 8.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,749,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 35,357,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,272,146,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.6%

GOOG stock opened at $301.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $319.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,076,615 shares of company stock worth $107,809,111. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 5th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $345.71.

Read Our Latest Report on Alphabet

Alphabet Profile

(Free Report)

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.