Paragon Advisors LLC Grows Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Paragon Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 24.7% in Q4 to 24,352 shares (worth $7.62M), making Alphabet about 2.1% of the firm's portfolio and its 11th largest holding.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares for roughly $9.88M, and insiders sold 2,092,336 shares (~$112.52M) in the last quarter, though insiders still own 11.55% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $368.06, while several firms have raised targets (e.g., Piper Sandler to $395, Goldman to $375).

Paragon Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,352 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,828 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.1% of Paragon Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Paragon Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,799 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Delta Asset Management LLC TN raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 6,153 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matisse Capital boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 14,814 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $279.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Alphabet from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.06.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total transaction of $9,877,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,818,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $856,605,814.08. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,092,336 shares of company stock worth $112,519,943 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TurboQuant AI compression positions Alphabet to cut AI infrastructure costs and extend its AI leadership, which could boost margins and reduce dependence on memory suppliers. Alphabet Just Introduced Its Newest AI Advantage, and It's Another Reason to Buy the Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst outlooks are supportive: a published price target increase to $397 signals upside from the sell-side and may provide buying interest. Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL Price Target Raised to $397.00
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy rating, reinforcing institutional support and potentially limiting downside as some funds watch analyst guidance. Alphabet's (GOOGL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street and independent finance experts remain broadly positive on end‑of‑2026 price prospects, supporting medium-term investor confidence. Finance experts predict Google stock price for end of 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Last week’s near‑9% drop is partly market-driven (broader index weakness/geo‑political risk); however, Alphabet remains the top-performing Magnificent Seven name over 12 months and is the only peer above its 200‑day SMA — a mixed technical picture to monitor. After Falling Nearly 9% Last Week, Has Alphabet Lost Its Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Sundar Pichai’s routine, pre‑planned sale of shares resurfaced in headlines but aligns with his historical pattern and is unlikely to signal new negative insider activity. After Falling Nearly 9% Last Week, Has Alphabet Lost Its Edge?
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile personnel moves (a former Google CMO left with a large equity package; Apple hired a Google shopping exec) are noteworthy for talent flow but are not immediate earnings drivers. Meet the ex-Google CMO who quit with a seven-figure package by 28 Apple Recruits Google Shopping Exec to Lead AI Marketing
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark social‑media addiction verdict found YouTube negligent, raising litigation risk and regulatory attention that could increase legal costs or policy constraints over time. Meta and Google lost a major social media addiction lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Large portfolio moves by Ark Invest (sales of Alphabet shares) add selling pressure and can amplify downside during volatile sessions. Cathie Wood Going Cold On Big Tech? Ark Sells Nvidia, AMD, Meta And Google Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Poaching of senior product marketing talent by rivals (Apple) highlights competition for AI marketing expertise and could modestly pressure execution in consumer/ads initiatives. Apple Recruits Google Shopping Exec to Lead AI Marketing

Alphabet Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $273.50 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $349.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $311.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.63.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet 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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