Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 2,863 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its Alphabet stake by 3.7%, buying 2,863 shares to hold 79,218 shares valued at about $19.26 million.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares for roughly $10.4 million, and insiders have sold 2,112,493 shares worth $118.6 million over the past 90 days, though company insiders still own 11.64% of Alphabet.
• Corporate news is mixed: CVS will deploy an AI health platform on Google Cloud, supporting the Cloud/Gemini growth narrative, while a wrongful‑death lawsuit over Gemini, Waymo regulatory probes and a Play Store commission cut pose legal and regulatory risks; analysts have raised price targets and Alphabet announced a $0.21 quarterly dividend (0.3% yield).

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,218 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 37.9% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S&T Bank PA lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 40.2% in the second quarter. S&T Bank PA now owns 345 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $720,914,730.12. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large cloud commercial win — CVS will deploy an AI‑enabled health platform on Google Cloud, validating enterprise demand for recurring cloud/AI revenue and supporting the Google Cloud/Gemini growth story. CVS taps Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: AI partnership continuity — Google said Anthropic will remain available for non‑defense projects after DoD actions, limiting disruption to Alphabet’s access to Anthropic models and enterprise AI offerings. Google says Anthropic remains available
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support — Robert W. Baird lifted its price target to $380 and other firms have boosted targets/ratings recently, reinforcing buy narratives and upside vs. the current price. Baird raises price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Small insider sales — filings show modest sales by a director and the CAO; routine disclosures that markets note but are not large enough to signal strategic conviction changes. SEC filing — insider sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary on recent pullback — coverage (e.g., Zacks) highlights the stock’s slide since earnings and asks whether it can rebound, offering investor viewpoints but no new company fundamentals. Zacks — can it rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/PR overhang: a wrongful‑death lawsuit alleges harmful guidance from the Gemini chatbot, raising potential liability, regulatory scrutiny and reputational risk for Alphabet’s core AI investment thesis. Gemini wrongful‑death lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Autonomous‑vehicle scrutiny — the NHTSA/NHTSA‑led safety forum and ongoing probes into Waymo incidents increase regulatory risk and operational uncertainty for the self‑driving unit. NHTSA self‑driving safety forum
• Negative Sentiment: App store revenue pressure — a settlement with Epic lowered Play Store commission rates (to ~20% + up to 5%), which could modestly reduce Play‑ecosystem take rates and near‑term revenue. Play Store commission cut
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical pressure — recent tensions and tech pullbacks in affected markets (e.g., Dubai exposure) are weighing on large‑cap tech multiples, contributing to negative sentiment around GOOGL. Tech offices respond to U.S.-Iran tensions

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $298.80 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $349.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $319.93 and a 200-day moving average of $285.67. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, New Street Research upped their target price on Alphabet from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.18.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.

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