Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Holdings Lessened by WT Wealth Management

WT Wealth Management reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,083 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,184 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.8% of WT Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. WT Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the third quarter. Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% during the third quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 7,208 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Canaccord raised its GOOGL target to $390 and kept a Buy rating, adding to other recent bullish targets (Cantor, Citizens, Jefferies) that signal upside and help support buying interest. Canaccord Raises PT to $390
• Positive Sentiment: AI product momentum — Google’s Gemini is reportedly taking share from ChatGPT and Gemini-powered features are rolling into Gmail at scale, improving monetization expectations for search, ads and cloud. That supports earnings upside assumptions embedded in higher targets. Gemini Gains Market Share
• Positive Sentiment: Market-cap milestone — Alphabet briefly surpassed Apple to become the world’s No.2 public company by market value, a sign of investor confidence in Alphabet’s AI/cash-flow story and a potential magnet for index/ETF flows. Alphabet Surpasses Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory relief in EU digital-rule overhaul — Reports say major U.S. tech firms including Alphabet will avoid the strictest proposed EU digital rules, reducing near-term regulatory overhang. Big Tech Spared Strict EU Rules
• Neutral Sentiment: Wiz acquisition awaiting EU decision by Feb. 10 — The $32B Wiz buy is Alphabet’s largest-ever deal; approval would remove a major integration uncertainty, while a blockage would be a setback. Monitor EU outcome. EU to Decide on Wiz Deal by Feb. 10
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo product/branding updates — Waymo rebranding of its Zeekr robotaxi is a long-term commercial push for autonomous services; relevant for Waymo valuation but limited near-term EPS impact. Waymo Rebrands Robotaxi
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and reputational risk from AI-related lawsuits — Alphabet and Character.AI settled suits tied to alleged harm to minors (including a teen suicide), highlighting regulatory/legal exposure around chatbots. This raises potential costs and reputational concerns. Google, Character.AI Settle Lawsuits
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and talent losses — CEO Sundar Pichai disclosed a sale of 32,500 shares; separately, Nvidia hired a Google marketing veteran as CMO. Insider sales and high-profile departures can be watched for sentiment/talent implications. SEC Filing: Pichai Share Sale

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Alphabet from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Alphabet from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $316.79.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $326.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $305.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $330.54.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total value of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total transaction of $800,786.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 227,965 shares of company stock worth $67,495,822 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.