Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $100.92 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors trimmed its Alphabet stake by 6.7% in Q4 to 321,598 shares worth $100.92 million, making GOOG about 5.8% of the firm's holdings and its fourth-largest position.
• Alphabet beat Q4 expectations, reporting $2.82 EPS vs. $2.59 est. and $113.83 billion in revenue (up 18% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share ($0.84 annual).
• Analysts are largely bullish (consensus "Buy" with an average target of $345.71), but the stock faces headline risks — including an Aptoide antitrust suit and reported ~$218 billion arbitration exposure — alongside notable insider selling (about 2.07M shares, ~$104.5M, in the last 90 days).

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,598 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 23,265 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.8% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $100,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Tradewinds LLC. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2,134.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 45,098 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,984,000 after acquiring an additional 43,080 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $86,345,000 after acquiring an additional 84,553 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 157,143 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,272,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $334.47 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.40 and a 12-month high of $350.15. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $305.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $345.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock worth $104,505,914. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and outlets highlight Alphabet’s large payoff potential from its early SpaceX stake, which investors view as a material latent asset that could boost GAAP value if SpaceX goes public. Alphabet (GOOGL) Could Score a $100B+ Payday from SpaceX IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage emphasizes the same theme — Google’s SpaceX stake could be worth more than most public companies, a narrative that supports a higher valuation multiple for GOOG. Google's stake in SpaceX could be worth more than most companies on the planet
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: analysts have raised targets and put Alphabet on catalyst watches ahead of events and Q1 earnings, fueling bullish positioning. Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) Opinions on Analyst Price Target Increases
• Positive Sentiment: Citi boosted its price target and kept a Buy rating ahead of Q1, reinforcing the buy-side narrative into earnings and product events. Wall Street sets Google stock price target for the next 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial AI traction: new partnerships and product launches (Cadence optimizing chip design on Google Cloud; Thoma Bravo deal to bring AI to a large software portfolio; Gemini app for Mac; Chrome “AI skills” rollout) strengthen revenue and cloud backlog outlook. Cadence and Google Collaborate to Scale AI-Driven Chip Design with ChipStack AI Super Agent on Google Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: Some funds trimmed GOOG in recent 13F updates (various institutional sales), which may reflect portfolio rebalancing rather than conviction changes; keep an eye on large-scale flows. Fund Update: Douglas Lane & Associates, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risk: Alphabet faces a new antitrust suit from rival app store Aptoide and a separate report of mass arbitration claims tied to ad tech/search rulings — these are headline risks that could pressure sentiment or lead to fines/costs. Google sued by rival app store Aptoide over alleged monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Large-scale arbitration exposure reported (~$218B) tied to ad tech/search rulings — while the figure is headline-grabbing, resolution outcomes and timing remain uncertain and could create volatility. Alphabet Faces $218 Billion Mass Arbitration Claims Over Ad Tech And Search Rulings
• Negative Sentiment: Competition risk: OpenAI’s move into digital ads is an emerging threat to Google’s core ad franchise and is being watched by investors. OpenAI Pushes Into Digital Ads, Setting Up New Competition with Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta (META)

Alphabet Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

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.