Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock: Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. Trims Holdings

Key Points

• Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. reduced its Alphabet stake by 22.7% in the third quarter, selling 5,795 shares and retaining 19,758 shares worth approximately $6.8 million. Alphabet remains about 3.6% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 40.03% of GOOGL.
• Alphabet reported quarterly EPS of $9.11, far exceeding the $2.89 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $119.8 billion versus expectations of $117.07 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Alphabet carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $425.72, although recent insider selling and concerns over heavy AI infrastructure spending present risks.

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 22.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,758 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,795 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 3.6% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the first quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the first quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the first quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evansbrook LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $1.06 on Tuesday, hitting $353.78. 23,143,701 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,604,016. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $345.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $349.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $240.51 and a twelve month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.54 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $485.00 price target (up from $415.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. DA Davidson set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 17th. Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director owned 19,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,494,424.20. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 441,399 shares of company stock valued at $8,677,053 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Gemini 4 Argon for developers, businesses and paying users, highlighting coding and finance- and law-related knowledge work. The release may strengthen Alphabet’s position in the increasingly competitive AI market and support demand for Google Cloud. Google launches flagship AI model Gemini 4 Argon for developers and businesses
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas raised its Alphabet price target to $450, citing the outlook for Alphabet’s internally designed tensor processing units. Another analyst said the AI-chip business could unlock as much as $100 billion by 2028, adding a potentially significant revenue stream beyond advertising and cloud services. Alphabet target raised to $450 at BNP Paribas
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remains constructive on Alphabet’s rapidly expanding cloud business, large order backlog and AI-related demand. Cantor Fitzgerald also reaffirmed an “overweight” rating with a $420 target, reinforcing the view that the stock’s valuation leaves room for further upside if cloud growth and AI monetization continue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Play will let users privately install “vibe-coded” Android applications without publishing them publicly. The feature could increase developer engagement and Android usage, but its near-term financial impact is unclear. Google Play supports private vibe-coded apps
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities-fraud class action against Alphabet concerning alleged misrepresentations about the progress of the Gemini 3.5 Pro model. The complaints allege training and coding setbacks delayed a planned June launch and contributed to a subsequent stock decline. The lead-plaintiff deadline is generally December 1, 2026; the allegations have not been proven, but the litigation creates legal, reputational and disclosure risks. Alphabet AI issues trigger securities-fraud class action
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also highlights Alphabet’s heavy AI infrastructure spending and questions whether recent EPS growth fully reflects operating performance. Separately, publisher Reach reported weaker digital revenue because of reduced Google referrals, underscoring potential pressure on parts of Google’s search-driven advertising ecosystem.

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.

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