Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Sold by Spartan Planning & Wealth Management

Key Points

• Spartan Planning & Wealth Management cut its Alphabet stake by 57.6% in the third quarter, selling 6,648 shares and retaining 4,887 shares worth about $1.68 million.
• Institutional sentiment was mixed: several major investors, including State Street, Amundi and Mitsubishi UFJ, increased their positions, while insiders sold shares. Hedge funds and other institutions collectively own 40.03% of Alphabet.
• Alphabet’s outlook is supported by Gemini AI, Google Cloud growth and strong analyst targets, but investors remain concerned about heavy AI infrastructure spending, uncertain monetization and related legal risks. Shares opened at $353.78, while the consensus analyst price target was $425.72.

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 57.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,887 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,648 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.1% of Spartan Planning & Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $85,403,303,000 after buying an additional 12,718,127 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,394,474 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $14,208,470,000 after buying an additional 208,362 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 33,203,350 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,865,809,000 after buying an additional 1,457,371 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,724,321 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,334,186,000 after buying an additional 1,631,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 17,079,800 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,911,467,000 after buying an additional 1,139,400 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines 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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 441,399 shares of company stock valued at $8,677,053. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $353.78 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $345.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $350.40. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $240.51 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.72.

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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