Main Street Research LLC Has $72.89 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Main Street Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 299,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 3.9% of Main Street Research LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $72,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,673 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,716,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% during the third quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 21,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,184,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $3,821,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 13.5% during the third quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,301 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,178,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 30,189 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,339,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.4%

GOOGL stock opened at $302.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $349.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $319.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.23. 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:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total value of $184,038.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,624 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,999.52. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major competitor Meta has delayed a next?generation AI release and reportedly discussed temporarily licensing Google’s Gemini model, which could help Alphabet expand usage/licensing of its AI stack and win incremental share. Meta delays release; may license Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a “buy” on GOOGL and set a $400 price target (~32% upside from current levels), which can support investor confidence and buying interest. Needham reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight Meta falling behind on large AI models (and considering licensing Google tech), reinforcing the view that Google could capture market share in foundational models and services. Meta falling behind — Yahoo
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Alphabet’s earnings growth and price strength as reasons to watch GOOGL, supporting a constructive fundamental view after recent results. Zacks: earnings growth & price strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Google, Amazon and Meta pushing their own AI chips signals a structural shift in AI infrastructure — a long?term positive if Google’s stack wins, but it intensifies competition with incumbents like NVIDIA and may pressure margins/capex. AI chips competition — Yahoo
• Neutral Sentiment: Google sold a partial stake in its GFiber unit and partnered to form a new independent fiber provider; this reduces direct capital burden but also trims ownership of the broadband growth asset. GFiber stake sale — CNBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/PR note: Google named its London HQ “Platform 37” referencing DeepMind/AlphaGo success — modestly positive for culture/AI branding but not material to near?term financials. Platform 37 naming — Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator and wider regulatory scrutiny on tech safety and child protection remain overhangs for Big Tech, including Alphabet, since new rules or enforcement could increase compliance costs or constrain certain services. UK regulator warning — Sky

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.18.

About Alphabet

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.