Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 12,526 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.3% of Vanderbilt University’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.4% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 37.9% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Alphabet by 77.6% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 348 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective (up from $320.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $306.00 target price (up previously from $255.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.19.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI & advertising momentum: Analysts and commentators point to Alphabet’s AI advances (Gemini/AI search) and its powerful ad engine as the core reason for the rally and long-term upside. This is framed as the driver that could push Alphabet into the $4 trillion club. Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence Stock Will Become a Member of the $4 Trillion Club in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street upgrades and higher price targets: Multiple analysts have revised GOOGL price targets upward and issued bullish notes entering 2026, reinforcing momentum and institutional buying appetite. Analyst revises Google stock price target for the next 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: Market-cap milestone: Alphabet has overtaken Apple to become the world’s second-most valuable public company, a signal that investors are rewarding its AI progress and lifting index/ETF flows that track mega-cap weightings. Google Claims Apple’s Spot on Most-Valuable-Companies List
• Neutral Sentiment: EU regulatory environment looks less punitive: Reports say EU digital rule overhaul will spare big tech from the strictest measures, reducing a potential regulatory overhang but keeping oversight in place. Exclusive: Big Tech spared strict rules in EU digital rule overhaul, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Wiz acquisition pending EU decision (timeline disclosed): The $32B Wiz deal remains under review with a decision due by Feb. 10 — resolution will remove uncertainty either way. EU antitrust regulators to decide on Google’s Wiz deal by February 10
• Neutral Sentiment: Lawsuit settlements over AI chatbots: Alphabet and Character.AI settled suits tied to minors’ harm, which reduces legal overhang but keeps reputational and regulatory scrutiny in play. Google and Character.AI to Settle Lawsuit Over Teenager’s Death
• Negative Sentiment: Insider share sale: CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares (disclosed filing). While not large relative to his holdings, insider selling can be perceived as a slight negative by some investors. Sundar Pichai stock sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Talent loss to rivals: Nvidia hired a senior Google marketing executive as CMO — a small signal that top talent is mobile amid the AI competition, which could worry some investors about retention. Nvidia Hires Google Veteran as Its First Chief Marketing Officer

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $184,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,872.04. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,244,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 225,187 shares of company stock valued at $66,695,036. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $325.44 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $305.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.60. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $330.32.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The business had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.