Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,681 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 4.0% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $56,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in Alphabet by 239.7% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,198,000 after acquiring an additional 44,546 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% during the second quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 113,605 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,236,000 after acquiring an additional 18,130 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,164,341 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $206,542,000 after acquiring an additional 42,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 14,709 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,656,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $273.76 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $312.93 and its 200-day moving average is $295.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $345.71.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is deepening its AI infrastructure ties by backing a massive Texas data‑center project to be leased by Anthropic — a strategic move that secures capacity for large AI models and strengthens a key partner relationship. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been raising targets: Needham and other analysts have issued $400+/high‑3xx targets and firms like Wells Fargo raised theirs recently — supporting medium‑term upside narratives despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: recent quarterly beats, accelerating Google Cloud backlog (~$240B reported), and rapid Gemini adoption underpin revenue visibility and long‑term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Research’s TurboQuant memory‑compression work has spooked memory suppliers but can be a net positive for Alphabet — lower AI infrastructure costs and greater model efficiency improve margins and competitive positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is in a correction from its highs and some commentators frame the selloff as a buying opportunity; price action below key short‑term supports is increasing volatility but not yet changing the longer‑term bull case. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensified after a high‑profile jury found YouTube (Alphabet) liable in a social‑media addiction bellwether case — the direct damages are small but the ruling increases headline and litigation risk across many pending suits and could force product or regulatory changes that hit engagement/ads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market and geopolitical pressures: a tech sector selloff (Nasdaq weakness, Iran war worries) and legal blows to peers like Meta have amplified outflows from large cap tech, pressuring GOOG along with the group. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional/insider moves and high‑profile position trims (reported sales and some billionaire reductions) add selling pressure and headline risk in the near term. Read More.

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.