Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Holdings Cut by Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.

Key Points

• Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. cut its Alphabet stake by 4.1% in Q4, selling 4,164 shares to finish with 97,093 shares worth about $30.47M, making GOOG its fourth‑largest holding (~5.5% of the portfolio).
• Alphabet beat the quarter with EPS $2.82 versus $2.59 and revenue of $113.8B (up 18% YoY); the company trades near a $4.0T market cap and carries a MarketBeat consensus target of $346.03 amid mostly Buy ratings.
• Strategic/analyst catalysts include Gemini being embedded into Chrome for ~3.5 billion users and a Vodafone‑Google Cloud tie‑up (which may boost ad and cloud monetization), while UBS raised its price target to $375.

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,093 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,164 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 5.5% of Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Lynch Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $330.47 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $149.49 and a one year high of $350.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Alphabet's revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid 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 was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google has embedded Gemini into Chrome for ~3.5 billion users and added “Skills for Gemini,” which puts AI prompts into the purchase journey — a distribution boost for Gemini that could lift ad engagement and cloud/AI services monetization. Google Embeds AI Into Chrome for 3.5 Billion Users
• Positive Sentiment: Vodafone will offer advanced cybersecurity and agentic AI to small-business customers through its strategic Google Cloud tie‑up, expanding Google Cloud’s go‑to‑market reach in Europe and recurring-revenue potential. Vodafone offers small businesses cybersecurity, AI capability with Google tie-up
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Alphabet to $375 (from $348) while citing Cloud strength and easing ad‑share fears tied to ChatGPT — analyst support helps underpin investor sentiment ahead of Cloud Next and upcoming earnings. UBS Raises Alphabet's Target to $375
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is rolling Gemini in Chrome into new Asia‑Pacific markets (Australia, Indonesia, etc.), increasing international reach but with monetization and adoption still to play out. Google Tightens Global Grip as Gemini in Chrome Expands
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s new inference‑focused TPU roadmap and reports of talks with suppliers (e.g., Marvell) signal stronger cloud differentiation and margin potential — but some partnership reports remain unconfirmed and timing is uncertain. Google to Release New AI Chips, Challenging Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar is in advanced talks to lease ~300k sq ft of Google’s Thompson Center redevelopment in Chicago — reduces real‑estate vacancy risk but is a modest operational detail versus core business drivers. Morningstar to lease big chunk of Loop’s Thompson Center from Google
• Negative Sentiment: A reported 13F filing from Cardano Risk Management shows massive (~90%) reductions in GOOG/GOOGL holdings — if accurate, large paper cuts can create short‑term selling pressure (filing/parse caveats apply). Fund Update: Cardano Risk Management Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director John Hennessy disclosed a sale of 1,050 shares in mid‑April — a small sale value‑wise but often read negatively by momentum traders. Insider Selling: John Hennessy SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting Google leaders’ anxiety about losing the AI coding/tools race and competitive pressure from Nvidia/others may be weighing on sentiment, amplifying rotation out of some tech names. Why Google Leaders Are Becoming Anxious About Losing the AI Coding Race

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.03.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,037,294 shares of company stock worth $94,216,897 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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