Nicholas Company Inc. Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Nicholas Company Inc. reduced its Alphabet stake by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 124,760 shares and leaving it with 797,510 shares worth about $250.3 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s largest holding, making up roughly 4.3% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet recently posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.68 consensus estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year. The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on GOOG, with multiple analysts reiterating Buy/Outperform ratings and a consensus price target of $365.23. The stock opened at $384.90, near its 52-week high, reflecting strong investor sentiment despite some recent insider and institutional selling.

Nicholas Company Inc. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 797,510 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 124,760 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 4.3% of Nicholas Company Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $250,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $63,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial set a $385.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $365.23.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $384.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $332.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.68.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.41%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google I/O 2026 showcased major AI products and upgrades, including Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini Spark, AI-powered Search changes, and new monetization features, reinforcing confidence that Alphabet can monetize AI across its core businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet and Blackstone announced a $5 billion AI cloud venture built around Google’s TPU chips, which could expand Google Cloud and strengthen Alphabet’s position in AI infrastructure. Google, Blackstone to create new AI cloud company, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary after I/O has been bullish, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Outperform ratings and higher price targets, suggesting the market sees more upside from Alphabet’s AI strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Alphabet’s AI adoption, cloud growth, and record operating margins support the view that the company is not just spending on AI, but improving profitability as well.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some reports note mixed signals from large investors and traders, including portfolio trimming by a few funds and valuation concerns after the stock’s strong run.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced headlines about a director sale and a major shareholder reducing its stake, which may create modest short-term pressure as investors lock in gains. TikTok, YouTube lag on UK child safety as rivals act, regulator says

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. Corporate 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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