Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 4,114 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Cannell & Spears LLC sold 4,114 shares of Alphabet in Q3, trimming its position by 1.0% to 404,510 shares worth about $98.34 million, leaving GOOGL as its 8th-largest holding.
• Alphabet beat expectations with Q4 results (EPS $2.82 vs. $2.57; revenue $113.83B vs. $111.24B) and declared a $0.21 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.84, yield 0.3%), while the stock trades around $302 with a $3.66 trillion market cap.
• Market sentiment is mixed: insiders have sold heavily (2.08M shares in 90 days), but analysts remain largely positive (average rating "Moderate Buy" and average target ≈ $367) and AI developments—such as Meta possibly licensing Google's Gemini—could strengthen Alphabet's competitive position.

Cannell & Spears LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 404,510 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,114 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.9% of Cannell & Spears LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Cannell & Spears LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $98,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooktree Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $352,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 13.9% during the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,731 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $14,277,000 after acquiring an additional 7,180 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 23.6% during the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.9% during the second quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,028 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisory Group increased its stake in Alphabet by 21.0% during the second quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group now owns 2,407 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $302.28 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $349.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 7.77%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major competitor Meta has delayed a next‑generation AI release and reportedly discussed temporarily licensing Google’s Gemini model, which could help Alphabet expand usage/licensing of its AI stack and win incremental share. Meta delays release; may license Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a "buy" on GOOGL and set a $400 price target (~32% upside from current levels), which can support investor confidence and buying interest. Needham reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight Meta falling behind on large AI models (and considering licensing Google tech), reinforcing the view that Google could capture market share in foundational models and services. Meta falling behind — Yahoo
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Alphabet's earnings growth and price strength as reasons to watch GOOGL, supporting a constructive fundamental view after recent results. Zacks: earnings growth & price strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Google, Amazon and Meta pushing their own AI chips signals a structural shift in AI infrastructure — a long‑term positive if Google’s stack wins, but it intensifies competition with incumbents like NVIDIA and may pressure margins/capex. AI chips competition — Yahoo
• Neutral Sentiment: Google sold a partial stake in its GFiber unit and partnered to form a new independent fiber provider; this reduces direct capital burden but also trims ownership of the broadband growth asset. GFiber stake sale — CNBC
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/PR note: Google named its London HQ "Platform 37" referencing DeepMind/AlphaGo success — modestly positive for culture/AI branding but not material to near‑term financials. Platform 37 naming — Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator and wider regulatory scrutiny on tech safety and child protection remain overhangs for Big Tech, including Alphabet, since new rules or enforcement could increase compliance costs or constrain certain services. UK regulator warning — Sky

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $395.00 target price (up from $346.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,076,615 shares of company stock worth $107,809,111. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.