Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Lowered by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,370 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.9% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collar Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% during the third quarter. Collar Capital Management LLC now owns 15,998 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,896,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Define Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Define Financial LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Randall & Associates Wealth Management boosted its position in Alphabet by 133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Randall & Associates Wealth Management now owns 2,732 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quad Cities Investment Group LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.8% in the third quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 6,371 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Alphabet from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $313.04.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $694,638.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,629,725.80. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total value of $8,129,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $592,760,192.85. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 210,987 shares of company stock valued at $59,551,040 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market and analysts have materially repriced Alphabet as an AI leader after strong execution (Gemini, Google Cloud, proprietary chips); MarketBeat lists Alphabet as the most-upgraded stock with sizable upside targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: TipRanks highlights top analysts projecting a ~23% price gain for 2026, supporting upward momentum and higher price targets. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product traction: Reports show Gemini gaining meaningful market share and large MAU figures, reinforcing Alphabet’s competitiveness vs. rivals and fueling revenue expectations from AI-driven services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial wins and spin-off traction: SandboxAQ (Alphabet spin-off) won a major Bahrain government cyber contract — a signal that Alphabet’s broader AI/cyber assets are monetizing beyond search ads. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Cost/technology advantage: Commentary highlights Alphabet’s structural edge from custom AI chips and scale — a durable margin/competitive advantage if demand for large models continues. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital intensity debate: Analysts and columnists note heavy, ongoing AI capex across hyperscalers — this underpins future growth but keeps near‑term spending and margin scrutiny in focus. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: “Stay-on-top” analysis: Coverage pointing out what Alphabet must do to retain AI leadership — positive for longer-term case but underscores ongoing competitive pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: Reports say the DOJ is probing Google over DEI-related practices, which adds a potential regulatory/legal overhang that can increase headline volatility. Read More.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $314.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $297.47 and a 200-day moving average of $241.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $328.67.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion for 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 quarterly revenue 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. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.28%.

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.