Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC (Empirical Wealth Management) trimmed its Alphabet stake by 4.3% in Q4, selling 6,734 shares to hold 151,433 shares worth about $47.52 million, making GOOG its 23rd largest position (≈0.8% of the fund).
• Large institutional buyers like State Street, JPMorgan and AllianceBernstein increased their Alphabet holdings, while insiders sold roughly 2,101,844 shares (~$115.1M) in the last quarter, signaling mixed flows between institutions and insiders.
• Key corporate catalysts include a long‑term deal with Broadcom to develop Google’s custom AI chips (supporting Google Cloud/Gemini scale), but planned hefty 2026 capex (~$175–$185B) and rising data‑center environmental scrutiny could pressure margins and pose execution risks.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,433 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,734 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.8% of Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $47,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,914,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,511,477,000 after buying an additional 2,428,266 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,749,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,203 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,935,671,000 after purchasing an additional 223,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,971,769,000 after purchasing an additional 539,679 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom signed a long‑term agreement to develop and supply Google’s future custom AI chips (through 2031) and expanded compute arrangements that also involve Anthropic — this secures a key supply chain component for Google’s next‑gen AI racks and supports Google Cloud/Gemini scale. Broadcom signs long-term deal to develop Google's custom AI chips
• Positive Sentiment: Investor/analyst backing is resurfacing: billionaire/allocations (Druckenmiller, Ken Griffin mentions) and fresh analyst notes keep a constructive view on GOOGL’s AI and cloud growth — supportive for sentiment and demand for shares. Alphabet is a Top AI Stock Pick of Billionaire Ken Griffin
• Neutral Sentiment: Google adjusted Gemini pricing for different AI workloads — this gives developers more levers to trade cost vs. performance and could help adoption and monetization, but the revenue impact will depend on uptake and pricing mix. Google Adjusts Gemini Pricing for Different AI Workloads
• Negative Sentiment: Large planned 2026 capital spending (reports cite ~$175–$185B / ~$180B) is a double‑edged sword — it underpins AI/cloud leadership but will likely pressure margins and free cash flow in the near term. Nobody Believed In Alphabet: In 2026, It Faces Its Biggest Test
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder and community pressure over water and power use at data centers is rising — potential project delays, cancellations or increased compliance costs are execution risks for expansion plans. Investors press Amazon, Microsoft and Google on water, power use in US data centers
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Google’s AI “Overviews” can be manipulated by scammers have triggered anti‑spam fixes — a reminder that product reliability and user trust issues could impact search experience and ad monetization if not fully resolved. Alphabet Faces AI Overview Fraud Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Visible insider selling and mixed institutional flows (large rebalances reported) add a technical/headline headwind that can amplify short‑term volatility despite strong fundamentals. Quiver Quantitative summary of opinions and insider activity

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $297.66 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $350.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $308.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.57. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. Alphabet's revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $345.71.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total value of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,101,844 shares of company stock worth $115,147,751 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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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