Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Holdings Lifted by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,382,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 448,986 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.4% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $336,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% during the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 121.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $338.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $320.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.66. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $342.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders 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 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.28%.

Alphabet News Roundup

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $330.83.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.26, for a total transaction of $800,786.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,884.14. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,070,485 shares of company stock worth $104,428,169 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

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.