Trek Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Trek Financial LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 142,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,883 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.1% of Trek Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $34,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 370 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverbend Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the third quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,070,485 shares of company stock valued at $104,428,169 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0%

GOOG opened at $338.53 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $342.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $320.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued 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 yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google’s new Project Genie AI model — which can turn short prompts into fully rendered, playable 3D worlds and characters — is being viewed as a strategic win for Alphabet’s AI leadership and platform reach; the announcement spooked game developers but signals a new product avenue for Google that could expand ads, cloud consumption and developer tools. Videogame stocks slide on Google’s AI model that turns prompts into playable worlds
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note expects Alphabet to beat Q4 revenue and EPS as AI lifts ads and cloud demand — a direct fundamental rationale for upside to near-term earnings and investor estimates. Alphabet Could Power Past Forecasts As AI Lifts Ads, Cloud: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying: Vanguard reportedly added material GOOGL exposure in its latest filing, which supports demand for the shares from big passive/active holders. Fund Update: VANGUARD GROUP INC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Google disrupted a major residential proxy network used by bad actors, a security move that reduces abuse risk across its ecosystem and is a modest reputational/operational positive. Google disrupts large residential proxy network, reducing devices used by operators by ‘millions’
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focused on Q4 guidance and key metric estimates ahead of earnings; expectations and guidance will likely drive short-term moves more than some headlines. Ahead of Alphabet (GOOGL) Q4 Earnings: Get Ready With Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Profile/endorsement notes: coverage pieces and fund letters (e.g., Giverny Capital mention, Tim Cook comments on partnership) keep sentiment visible but are unlikely to move the tape materially on their own. Alphabet (GOOG) Contributed 4.7% to Giverny Capital Asset Management’s 2025 Growth
• Negative Sentiment: A former Google engineer was convicted of stealing AI trade secrets and uploading internal materials to personal cloud accounts — a legal/security headwind that raises concerns about IP protection and could prompt tighter controls and scrutiny. Former Google engineer found guilty of espionage and theft of AI tech
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo involvement in a pedestrian incident has triggered an NHTSA probe; regulatory/safety risks around Waymo’s rollout remain a potential liability and source of short-term volatility for Alphabet. A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school. The NHTSA is investigating

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Alphabet Company 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.