Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% in Q4, buying an additional 3,851 shares to hold 156,290 shares worth about $48.9 million, representing ~0.9% of its portfolio and the firm's 19th largest position.
• Alphabet beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.82 vs. $2.57 and revenue of $113.83 billion vs. $111.24 billion, pays a $0.21 quarterly dividend (0.2% yield), and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $369.67 average price target.
• Google is accelerating its cloud/AI push—launching new TPUs, the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and a $750M partner fund and landing large deals like Merck’s up-to-$1B commitment—while facing EU regulatory pressure on Android access and recent insider selling that could weigh on near-term sentiment.

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,290 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,851 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.9% of Ritholtz Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $48,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $416,217,000. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,731 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $14,277,000 after purchasing an additional 7,180 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,746 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,666,577 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $405,131,000 after purchasing an additional 60,831 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $338.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock's fifty day moving average is $308.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.84 and a 52 week high of $349.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled two eighth‑generation TPUs (separate chips for training and inference), a move that could lower AI infrastructure costs and help Google Cloud compete with Nvidia. This product push underpins revenue and margin upside in cloud/AI services. Google Cloud launches two new AI chips to compete with Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet amplified its enterprise AI strategy at Cloud Next — launching the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and a $750M partner fund to accelerate agentic AI adoption. That accelerates monetization paths for AI in Google Cloud. Google makes an interesting choice with its new agent building tool for enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: Large commercial deals are following: Merck committed up to $1B to use Google Cloud and Gemini Enterprise, validating enterprise demand and multiyear revenue potential for cloud AI services. Merck to partner with Google Cloud on AI initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms raised targets or reiterated bullish views (BMO to $410, UBS up to $375, Cantor to $395, KeyCorp to $380; JPMorgan and BofA reiterated Buy), signaling analyst confidence in Cloud + AI-driven growth ahead of Q1 results. BMO Raises Alphabet’s Target to $410 and Calls It “the Best Way to Own AI”
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is rolling consumer and workplace AI features (Wallet travel updates, Workspace automation, Chrome “auto browse”) that expand product engagement but are longer‑term monetization plays. Google updates Workspace to make AI your new office intern
• Neutral Sentiment: Independent bullish commentary (e.g., investor columns and pundit targets like Jim Cramer) support investor conviction but are opinion‑driven rather than new fundamentals. Jim Cramer sets Google stock price target
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators are pressuring Google to give rival AI assistants access to Android features — a potential regulatory move that could weaken Android‑centric advantages and complicate Google’s ad/assistant ecosystem. Google Faces New EU Pressure to Give AI Rivals Android Access
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling was reported, which briefly pressured shares; while not necessarily indicative of fundamentals, it can spook short‑term sentiment ahead of earnings. Alphabet Inc. NASDAQ: GOOGL Shares Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $397.00 to $361.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $369.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 2,037,294 shares of company stock worth $94,216,897 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

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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