Olstein Capital Management L.P. Sells 13,000 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Olstein Capital Management L.P. cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 47.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 13,000 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,182,111 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during 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 buying an additional 2,428,266 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 580,897.4% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 135,087,705 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,963,208,000 after buying an additional 135,064,454 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 107,760,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,022,926,000 after acquiring an additional 441,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.4% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord raised its price target for Alphabet to $390 and reiterated a Buy, boosting upside expectations and supporting investor sentiment. Canaccord PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet surpassed Apple to become the U.S. company with the second‑largest market cap, a headline that often attracts momentum buyers and index flows. Market Cap Surpasses Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Samsung said it will expand Galaxy phones with Gemini AI features — a distribution win that could accelerate user adoption of Google’s AI services and monetization opportunities for cloud/AI. Samsung / Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional activity remains supportive: MarketBeat and Quiver data show numerous upgrades, elevated price targets and large institutional buys, which underpin the rally. Analyst Sentiment / MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Competition in video/creator platforms (e.g., Spotify’s big creator push) and broader AI rivalry remain watch items; they could shift ad/video dynamics over time but are not immediate catalysts. Spotify vs YouTube
• Neutral Sentiment: Lobbying disclosures and quarterly fund/hedge‑fund positioning reported by Quiver are informational for policy and flows but unlikely to move the stock by themselves. Lobbying Disclosure
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet and Character.AI agreed to settle lawsuits alleging AI chatbots contributed to minors’ suicides — a material reputational and legal overhang that raises regulatory and liability concerns for AI products. Lawsuit Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that AI “answers” could cannibalize search ad revenue if users stop clicking links — a structural monetization risk for Google’s core ad business. Ad Cannibalization Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling activity reported in recent data (multiple executive sales) can be read negatively by some investors, adding caution despite institutional buying. Insider Selling / Quiver

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total transaction of $800,786.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 11,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,884.14. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 195,465 shares of company stock valued at $57,056,497 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.5%

GOOG opened at $322.48 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $305.07 and a 200 day moving average of $247.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $328.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $275.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.79.

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.