Parnassus Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Parnassus Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,901,505 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,239,006 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 5.6% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,160,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $277,696,000 after acquiring an additional 93,293 shares during the period. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,902,000. Private Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,736,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 924,927 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $224,850,000 after acquiring an additional 72,235 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. CICC Research boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google is reportedly in talks with Samsung to manufacture part of its next-generation TPU chip, a sign it is deepening control over AI hardware supply and potentially improving long-term margins. Google in talks with Samsung to make next-generation chips, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly premium subscription tier with perks like 10% cash back and free cancellations, showing Alphabet is working to turn autonomous driving into a recurring revenue business. Waymo launches a loyalty program with 10% cash back and free cancellations
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Alphabet, reinforcing confidence in the company’s profit outlook. Alphabet earnings estimate increases
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Alphabet as a long-term growth and AI beneficiary, with bullish commentary around cloud, Gemini, and the broader “agentic AI” opportunity. Alphabet: Now Is The Time To Raise Equity, Agentic AI Is Here (Rating Upgrade)
• Neutral Sentiment: Google said it identified an active Oracle PeopleSoft hacking campaign tied to ShinyHunters, which underscores cybersecurity concerns in the enterprise software ecosystem but is not a direct hit to Alphabet’s core business. Google says ShinyHunters hackers targeting education sector via Oracle exploit
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo also announced a national ad push and a broader effort to market its service, which may help growth but is too early to quantify. Waymo Readies First National Ads as Rivals and Critics Proliferate
• Negative Sentiment: A Google director resigned publicly over the company’s Pentagon-related AI work, adding reputational noise around governance and ethics. A Google director resigned over the company’s military deals
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced legal and product-related overhangs this week, including a denied retrial in the youth social media addiction case and reports of Gemini/Workspace service issues, which could weigh on sentiment. Update: Market Chatter: Google, Meta Platforms Denied New Trial in Youth Social Media Addiction Case by California Judge

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $357.77 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $359.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $330.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.00 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.