Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Employees Retirement System of Texas' 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas trimmed its stake by 4.4% to 1,231,120 shares, making Alphabet its 9th largest holding valued at about $299.84 million.
• Alphabet completed a $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz and is rolling out its Gemini AI across Maps and Workspace, moves that could boost cloud/AI monetization but increase near‑term cash outlay and integration risk.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Buy and $343.90 average price target; the company recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.82 vs. $2.59, revenue $113.8B, +18% YoY) and declared a $0.21 quarterly dividend.

Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,231,120 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 57,200 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.4% of Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Alphabet were worth $299,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tradewinds LLC. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2,134.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,000 after acquiring an additional 43,080 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $86,345,000 after acquiring an additional 84,553 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $900,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOG. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet closed its largest‑ever acquisition, buying cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion — a move that strengthens Google Cloud’s security offering and could help accelerate enterprise cloud adoption. Google completes $32B acquisition of Wiz
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet continues to monetize AI across products: Gemini is being added to Google Maps (“Ask Maps”) and Workspace (Docs/Sheets/Slides/Drive), which can drive engagement and incremental ad/cloud revenue over time. Google Adds Gemini AI to Google Maps
• Positive Sentiment: Google cut Android developer fees and expanded billing options, resolving a long dispute with Epic and enabling Fortnite’s return to the Play Store — a signal that policy changes may improve Play Store monetization and developer relations. Google App Store Brings Back Fortnite, Changes Fee Structure
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is combining its GFiber unit with Astound Broadband, retaining a minority stake while Stonepeak becomes majority owner — this monetizes a capital‑intensive asset but limits future control/returns. Google sells partial stake in fiber business
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and institutional backdrop remains supportive: multiple upgrades, a large buy consensus and continued inflows help underpin the longer‑term case even as the stock retraces; MarketBeat/analysis note $300 area as key technical support. Alphabet pullback and analyst coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports in recent feeds show zero or inconsistent figures (likely data anomalies), so don’t read too much into the reported “spike” — short interest appears not to be a driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks: UK regulator pressure to protect children online and ongoing AI‑related legal/competitive noise (lawsuits mentioned around Gemini) add headline risk that can pressure multiples for large tech names. Big tech warned to protect children online
• Negative Sentiment: Sizeable cash outlay for Wiz and heightened competition from other AI/cloud players mean investors may be cautious about near‑term free‑cash flow and integration risk despite strategic rationale. Google completes $32B purchase of Wiz

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.73, for a total value of $184,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,325,999.52. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business'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 owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $303.21 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $350.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company's fifty day moving average price is $319.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. 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 the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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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