Rockland Trust Co. Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Rockland Trust reduced its Alphabet stake by 2.7%, selling 11,139 shares and retaining 396,629 shares valued at approximately $136.5 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s second-largest holding and represents about 5.2% of its portfolio.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $425.60, above Alphabet’s reported share price of $346.30. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Tigress Financial, which lifted its target to $485.
• Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, exceeding expectations, while growth opportunities in AI and Google Cloud support the outlook. However, substantially higher AI infrastructure spending, regulatory scrutiny, and recent insider selling remain potential risks.

Rockland Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 396,629 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,139 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 5.2% of Rockland Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $136,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,977,259 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $85,403,303,000 after buying an additional 12,718,127 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 28,950.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,291,926 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,671,986,000 after acquiring an additional 9,259,940 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Alphabet by 90.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,040,373 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,900,078,000 after acquiring an additional 8,112,680 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 127.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,677,886 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,655,178,000 after acquiring an additional 6,554,842 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,737,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,299,721,000 after acquiring an additional 4,313,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $485.00 price target (up from $415.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled Gemini 4 Argon, an enterprise-focused AI model designed to perform complex, multistep work in software engineering, cybersecurity, finance, and legal services. A stronger product could support Google Cloud growth, subscriptions, and competitive positioning against OpenAI and Anthropic. Tech Bytes: Google unveils Gemini 4 Argon as AI race shifts to autonomous work
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Google Cloud’s rapid expansion, a substantial backlog, and Alphabet’s ability to monetize AI through cloud contracts, advertising, and paid subscriptions. Alphabet’s operating income reportedly rose 30% year over year in both first-half 2026 quarters, supporting the bullish case for continued earnings growth. Prediction: Alphabet's Profit Growth Carries It to $5 Trillion Before 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s investment in Anthropic could benefit shareholders if a potential IPO provides liquidity or increases Anthropic’s ability to purchase computing capacity, potentially benefiting Google Cloud and other AI infrastructure suppliers. 4 Major Winners From an Anthropic IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet executives are scheduled to testify at a New York City Council hearing on AI risks. The event may increase visibility for Google’s AI efforts, but could also foreshadow additional compliance requirements. AI risks hearing
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s capital expenditures reportedly doubled year over year to $44.92 billion in the second quarter, raising concerns that AI infrastructure spending could pressure free cash flow and shareholder returns before the investments generate sufficient profits. Alphabet Reported Negative Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a proposed £1 billion U.K. consumer claim alleging that Play Store commissions of up to 30% violate competition law. An adverse outcome could create financial liability and add to Alphabet’s broader regulatory burden. Google faces UK Play Store legal claim

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 441,399 shares of company stock valued at $8,677,053 over the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.8%

Alphabet stock traded up $2.80 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $346.30. 8,333,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,831,436. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $235.84 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $344.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $348.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology and internet services company best known as the parent company of Google. Its primary business, Google Services, includes online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a range of hardware and subscription products.

Alphabet also operates Google Cloud, which provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, productivity software, and artificial intelligence services to businesses, governments, and other organizations.

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