New York Life Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 660,372 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 24,406 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.4% of New York Life Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $160,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $4,298,572,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after purchasing an additional 5,182,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,808,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,388,775,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,929 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 17,547.9% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,122,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $731,331,000 after purchasing an additional 4,099,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Alphabet by 330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,989,463 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $707,691,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s results and AI traction remain strong: Cloud revenue and enterprise backlog are accelerating and Gemini user metrics/support drive upside to long?term monetization. Zacks: The Zacks Analyst Alphabet…
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo deployment of next?gen robotaxis signals commercial progress for Alphabet’s autonomous?vehicle unit, a longer?term growth catalyst. CNBC: Waymo begins deploying next?gen Ojai robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Some large asset managers are net buying while others trimmed positions — BNP Paribas added a multi?million share position in GOOG, offsetting other institutional reductions. QuiverQuant: BNP Paribas fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short?interest figures in recent feeds show zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so shorting activity is not a clear driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet completed a very large multi?currency debt offering (including long?dated tranches/century bond reports), which has spooked some investors worried about aggressive debt?funded CapEx and the lack of customary bond protections. Reuters: Alphabet bonds’ lack of guardrails…
• Negative Sentiment: Management guided 2026 CapEx sharply higher (~$175–$185B), and the market has treated that as a near?term cash?flow/headwind risk despite its AI rationale — this contributed to post?earnings weakness. Zacks: Alphabet drops 7% post Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust scrutiny has resurfaced: regulators are probing Google’s search?ads auction/pricing practices in Europe, introducing regulatory risk for ad monetization. Reuters: Google targeted by EU over search advertising auction practices
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional trimming reported in 13F updates (e.g., Neuberger, Swiss National Bank saw reductions), which can pressure intraday liquidity/psychology even as other funds add exposure. QuiverQuant: Neuberger Berman fund update

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,829 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.89, for a total transaction of $5,614,173.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,531,453.08. This represents a 29.32% 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 2,069,864 shares of company stock worth $105,985,041. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Alphabet in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $306.02 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $350.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $321.87 and a 200 day moving average of $275.04. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

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.