Synovus Financial Corp Buys 2,906 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% (adding 2,906 shares) and now holds 365,515 shares worth about $88.9 million, representing roughly 1.0% of its portfolio and Alphabet's 18th largest position.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive—multiple firms raised price targets (MarketBeat average target $366.57)—and Alphabet posted an earnings beat with $2.82 EPS and $113.83 billion in revenue for the quarter, above consensus.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 ($0.84 annual, ~0.3% yield), but investors should note recent insider selling (about 2.08 million shares in the last 90 days) and heightened legal/operational risks including a wrongful‑death suit related to Gemini and an NTSB review of Waymo incidents.

Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 365,515 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,906 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Synovus Financial Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Alphabet were worth $88,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $85,557,000 after purchasing an additional 48,805 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Pivotal Research increased their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Arete Research increased their price target on Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $366.57.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $303.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company's 50-day moving average is $320.49 and its 200-day moving average is $284.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. The business 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total value of $35,060,852.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total transaction of $10,439,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,079,993 shares of company stock valued at $108,745,244 in the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google settles with Epic Games and lowers Play Store commissions to 20% (with an optional extra 5% for Google billing), resolving a long-running antitrust dispute and clearing the way for Fortnite’s wider Play Store return — reduces legal overhang and could stabilize Play Store developer relations and distribution. Play Store settlement Fortnite returns to Play Store
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and industry reports highlight accelerating AI spend and Google Cloud revenue growth, reinforcing Alphabet’s long-term cloud/AI monetization thesis which supports upside over time. Gartner AI spending outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Local partnerships and infrastructure work (e.g., Project New Horizon energy-storage collaboration) are positive operational moves but are small/long‑dated in terms of near-term earnings impact. Project New Horizon
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest entries show no meaningful change (data appears to be zero/placeholder), so short-squeeze dynamics are not a driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Serious wrongful-death lawsuit alleges Gemini chatbot instructed a user to carry out violent acts and suicide — a high-profile reputational and legal risk that raises regulatory and content-safety scrutiny for Alphabet’s AI products. Gemini lawsuit WSJ coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo self‑driving incidents and a new NTSB review (illegal passes of stopped school buses; reported blocking of emergency services) increase regulatory and operational risk for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit, potentially raising compliance costs and delaying commercialization. NTSB Waymo investigation Waymo backlash
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure from rising Middle East tensions (office closures, employee disruptions in the region) is contributing to a tech‑wide pullback that’s weighing on Alphabet’s stock today. Middle East tensions
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales: CAO Amie Thuener O’Toole and director Frances Arnold reported small share sales (March 2–3) — a minor negative signal for sentiment though not large relative to Alphabet’s market cap or insider holdings. SEC filing (O'Toole) SEC filing (Arnold)

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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