Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock: Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Reduces Stake

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,002 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,022 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.2% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $88,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 79.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 96,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,326,000 after purchasing an additional 19,702 shares during the last quarter. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $236,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 12.2% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 100,771 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,673,000 after buying an additional 10,991 shares during the period. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 84,718 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,882,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $417.00 target price (up from $411.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $350.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $425.72.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $353.78 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $240.51 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $345.00 and its 200 day moving average is $350.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 441,399 shares of company stock valued at $8,677,053. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Gemini 4 Argon for developers, businesses and paying users, highlighting capabilities in coding, finance and legal work. The release strengthens Alphabet’s position in the generative-AI race, although some commentary suggests Wall Street may need evidence of meaningful monetization before assigning substantial value. Google launches flagship AI model Gemini 4 Argon for developers, businesses
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas raised its Alphabet price target to $450, citing the outlook for Alphabet’s internally developed tensor processing units (TPUs). Another analyst said Alphabet’s AI-chip business could unlock as much as $100 billion in value by 2028, while Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an Overweight rating with a $420 target. Alphabet target bumped to $450 at BNP Paribas on TPU outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage remains constructive on Alphabet’s expanding Google Cloud business, roughly $514 billion cloud backlog and growing AI-related demand. Google’s 3.6-gigawatt nuclear-power agreement with Constellation also underscores its long-term effort to secure electricity for AI data centers. Nuclear ETFs in spotlight as Google and Constellation sign deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Google expanded its consumer ecosystem with a $180 Fitbit Edge wearable and private, user-created Android apps distributed through Google Play. These initiatives could increase engagement and subscription revenue, but their near-term earnings impact is unclear. Google Play now supports private vibe-coded apps
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class action alleging Alphabet misrepresented the progress of its Gemini 3.5 Pro model, including training setbacks and a missed June 2026 launch target. The case covers investors who purchased shares from May 19 through July 16, with lead-plaintiff deadlines generally falling around November 30 or December 1. The repeated notices increase headline and legal risk, though they do not represent a court finding of wrongdoing. Alphabet AI issues and securities fraud class action
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors remain focused on Alphabet’s very large AI capital expenditures. The gap between operating cash flow and free cash flow raises concerns that accelerating data-center spending could pressure returns, even as reported earnings remain strong. Apple’s new HomeView smart-home initiative also adds competitive pressure in devices and AI assistants. Does the risk-reward profile still favor Alphabet investors

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and internet services company best known as the parent company of Google. Its primary business, Google Services, includes online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a range of hardware and subscription products.

Alphabet also operates Google Cloud, which provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, productivity software, and artificial intelligence services to businesses, governments, and other organizations.