Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Position Cut by Rathbones Group PLC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group cut its Alphabet stake by 10.2%, selling 195,042 shares in Q4 and now holds 1,712,515 shares worth roughly $537.4 million, representing about 1.7% of its portfolio and its 9th largest holding.
• Notable insider and block selling: insiders sold 2,069,344 shares (≈$104.7M) over the past 90 days, including a 1,845,308‑share sale by 2017 Gp L.L.C., even as some institutional investors increased positions.
• Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain positive: Alphabet beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.82 vs. $2.59) with revenue up 18% to $113.8B, and the stock has a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $345.71.

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,712,515 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 195,042 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.7% of Rathbones Group PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $537,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 76.2% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $330,886,000 after buying an additional 806,681 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 7.7% in the second quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 10.7% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,618,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,069,344 shares of company stock worth $104,708,426. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $345.71.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $315.73 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.40 and a 12-month high of $350.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $306.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.28. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: YouTube is raising U.S. subscription prices while the subscriber base tops ~125M, supporting higher ARPU and recurring revenue for Alphabet. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Google and Intel expanded a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership, reducing execution risk for Google Cloud’s AI capacity buildout and lowering costs for large model workloads. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Top analysts and boutiques reinstated bullish views and flagged upside (one analyst sees 30%+ upside), reinforcing momentum narratives around Cloud and AI monetization. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term optionality — fractional exposure to a potential SpaceX IPO value and sustained Google Cloud growth — remains a tailwind for longer-horizon investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s board approved new long-term equity awards to executives — standard for tech firms but could be viewed as modest dilution; monitor details when full filings are available. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF news (Roundhill GOOGL WeeklyPay distribution) and various market write-ups keep Alphabet in focus but are unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped in March to ~44.0M shares (+26.8% vs. mid‑March), representing roughly 0.4% of float and a short‑interest ratio near 1.9 days — rising short activity can amplify downside on negative headlines. (Market data)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal friction: Indonesia issued a reprimand over YouTube compliance and a California bill would add costs/constraints for Waymo’s robotaxi operations — both increase near‑term policy risk for ad and autonomous-vehicle initiatives. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some institutional trimming (reported stake reductions) and notes flagging stretched valuation/multiple compression risk could pressure the shares despite solid fundamentals. Article Title Article Title

Alphabet Profile

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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