Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,725 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,497 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 100.0% during the second quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 60.9% during the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness: Several firms (Wells Fargo, Mizuho and others) have upgraded or reiterated bullish ratings and raised price targets (median ~ $370, multiple targets much higher), supporting upside expectations for ad/Gemini growth. ‘Time to Get More Constructive,’ Says Wells Fargo on Alphabet Stock (GOOGL)
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships expand commercial reach: Alphabet struck a collaboration with Loblaw in Canada to embed Google shopping/AI capabilities, widening retail monetization touchpoints outside core U.S. markets. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Loblaw Companies Limited Enters into New Collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum in AI: Google launched Lyria 3 (DeepMind music-generation) in beta inside the Gemini app, showing ongoing product expansion that can drive engagement and new use cases for monetization. Alphabet (GOOGL) Expands AI Reach Amid Market Debate
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry capex context: Bridgewater estimates Big Tech will invest roughly $650B in AI infrastructure in 2026 — a sector-wide capital cycle that helps explain Alphabet’s spending plans but also signals competitive pressure on margins and suppliers. Big Tech to invest about $650 billion in AI in 2026, Bridgewater says
• Neutral Sentiment: Debate over AI capex sustainability: Social and industry commentary highlights that Alphabet is funding massive AI buildouts internally (versus peers using debt), creating long-term strategic advantages for suppliers but stirring free-cash-flow and energy-demand concerns. Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) Opinions on AI Infrastructure Expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Capex and cash-flow anxiety: Several pieces (and investor chatter) point to aggressive AI spending that could pressure free cash flow in 2026 — a headline driver that has weighed on the stock despite Alphabet’s large backlog and revenue growth. Alphabet: Don’t Let The CapEx Scare You Away From A $240B Backlog
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and governance headlines: Recent large insider sales (including CEO transactions reported) add short-term selling pressure and raise governance/optics concerns for some investors. Insider Selling: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) CEO Sells $9,877,400.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Accounting scrutiny: High-profile skepticism (e.g., Michael Burry commentary) accusing Big Tech of using accounting/depreciation to mask AI costs is adding reputational and analytical headwinds that can amplify volatility. Michael Burry Warns MSFT, GOOG, META Are Using ‘Sinister’ Accounting

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.30, for a total transaction of $10,637,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,211,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,945,705.60. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,112,482 shares of company stock worth $119,145,289. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $343.90.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $311.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

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.