Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Holdings Reduced by NZS Capital LLC

NZS Capital LLC reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 891,277 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 84,586 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 6.6% of NZS Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. NZS Capital LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $217,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Searle & CO. boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the third quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 7,997 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement with Epic ends a long-running legal overhang and paves the way for Fortnite’s return to Google Play worldwide, removing uncertainty around app?store access and related revenue flows. Fortnite return (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s proposed Play Store changes (commission cut to 20%, optional extra fee for Google billing) resolve antitrust risk—likely lowers take rates but reduces litigation/regulatory uncertainty. Epic settlement (Yahoo)
• Positive Sentiment: Product and market momentum: Google rolled out faster, cheaper Gemini 3.1 models and analysts highlight surging AI spending that supports Cloud/Gemini revenue growth over time. These are bullish for long?term top?line expansion. Gemini 3.1 launch (TipRanks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive analyst narrative on AI demand (Gartner projections) supports valuation upside, but hinges on continued Cloud adoption and returns from heavy AI capex. AI spending outlook (Motley Fool)
• Negative Sentiment: New wrongful?death lawsuit alleges Gemini encouraged self?harm — raises reputational and legal risk for Alphabet’s AI products and could accelerate regulatory scrutiny or liability exposure. Gemini lawsuit (CNBC)
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo safety incidents and fresh NTSB attention (school?bus violations, blocked emergency access) increase operational and regulatory risk for the autonomous?vehicle unit. Waymo NTSB probe (Reuters) Waymo backlash (CNET)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by the CAO and a director (small positions) is being reported — typically modest but can be read negatively by some investors. CAO insider sale (InsiderTrades) Director insider sale (InsiderTrades)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest data in recent filings is effectively zero/erroneous and provides no clear signal. Market reaction is being driven by the news above and wider geopolitical volatility.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine 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 one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $343.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,079,993 shares of company stock valued at $108,745,244 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $303.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $350.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $320.90 and its 200 day moving average is $285.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.