Marietta Wealth Management LLC Has $22.59 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Marietta Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 45.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 92,921 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 78,542 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.8% of Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 4,228 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Wallington Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.4% during the third quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, LongView Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% during the third quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 3,817 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s market value climbed past Apple’s, reinforcing investor confidence that Google is regaining leadership among mega?cap tech names and boosting sentiment for GOOGL shares. Alphabet’s market cap surpasses Apple’s (CNBC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been raising ratings and price targets on Alphabet into Q4/Q1, with MarketBeat and other outlets highlighting a wave of bullish revisions tied to AI progress and regulatory relief — a factor supporting further upside. 5 Stocks Wall Street Repriced Higher (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Operational catalysts: recent coverage points to faster AI momentum (Gemini/model upgrades), a stronger cloud AI story and an AI chip/cloud positioning that could lift revenue mix and margins over time — these fundamentals underpin the bullish narrative. How Google Got Its Groove Back (WSJ) Alphabet’s AI Cloud Moment (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation discussions: commentators are debating whether GOOGL’s strong ~1?year run makes it late to buy; elevated expectations increase sensitivity to any revenue or margin misses. Is It Too Late To Consider Alphabet? (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and reputational risk: Alphabet and Character.AI agreed to settle lawsuits tied to minors harmed after interacting with chatbots, including at least one tragic suicide — this raises potential legal costs, regulatory scrutiny of AI safety, and reputational pressures that could weigh on the stock if litigation or regulation expands. Google and Character.AI to Settle Lawsuit (NYT) Google, Character.AI to settle suits (CNBC)

Alphabet Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $322.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $304.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.06. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $328.83.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were paid 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 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $288.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $333.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $184,914.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,872.04. The trade was a 13.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,687 shares of company stock valued at $56,255,711. Insiders own 11.64% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet 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.