Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,339,614 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 581,827 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.7% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,761,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the third quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Searle & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 7,997 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $301.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $319.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.32. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband with Stonepeak as majority owner while Alphabet keeps a minority stake — this monetizes Google’s fiber asset, reduces future capex burden and leaves Alphabet with upside exposure to a larger independent broadband operator. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)’s Expanding Horizons: AI, Cloud, and Broadband Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Gemini AI is being added to Google Maps via “Ask Maps,” increasing product differentiation and engagement across a high-traffic app — a direct example of AI driving user value and monetization opportunities. Google (GOOGL) Adds Its Gemini AI Model to Google Maps to Allow More Detailed Questions
• Positive Sentiment: Google completed the acquisition of Wiz (~$32B), strengthening cloud security offerings — a strategic tuck-in that can help win larger enterprise cloud deals and justify higher cloud multiple over time. Google Just Closed Its $32 Billion Wiz Deal. How Should You Play GOOGL Stock Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Google changed Android billing rules, cut developer fees and resolved the Epic/Fortnite dispute — removing a legal overhang and improving developer economics for Play Store, which supports long-term app revenue resilience. Google (GOOGL) App Store Brings Back Fortnite, Changes Fee Structure
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain supportive — recent coverage highlights strong Q4 results, cash-rich balance sheet and a consensus “Buy” tilt with several elevated price targets. This underpins medium-term investor confidence. Alphabet Q4: A Fairly Valued Tech Titan To Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and options flow show heightened bullish conviction around Gemini and cloud, but this is sentiment-driven and can amplify short-term volatility rather than change fundamentals. Alphabet Stock (GOOG) Opinions on Gemini AI Advancements
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data in feeds appears noisy/invalid and does not signal a meaningful squeeze or covering dynamic at present.
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. regulator warnings on protecting children online increase the risk of tighter rules and compliance costs for big tech — a regulatory backdrop that could pressure valuations if enforcement or new rules accelerate. Big tech given warning – and deadline – by UK regulator

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,112,493 shares of company stock worth $118,605,094 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $345.71.

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.