Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s 8th Largest Position

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,047,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,600 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 2.0% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $328,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ring Mountain Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled a broad AI push at Google I/O, including new Gemini models, AI agents, smarter search tools, and new ad formats, which analysts say could lift monetization in Search and Cloud. Alphabet showcases new AI models and agent tools at Google I/O 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and other Wall Street firms reiterated bullish ratings and raised price targets after the I/O event, reinforcing the view that Alphabet’s AI strategy can support earnings growth. Bank of America Pounds the Table on Alphabet Stock (GOOGL) after Developer Conference
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet raised ¥576.9 billion through a multi-tranche yen note offering, giving it additional capital flexibility to fund AI infrastructure and data-center expansion. Alphabet Raises ¥576.9B Through Multi-Tranche Yen Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted Alphabet’s growing role in AI infrastructure, cloud computing, and even smart glasses, which supports the long-term thesis that the company is expanding beyond search. Alphabet’s new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discussed Google’s push into AI agents and AI-generated ads, but some commentary noted the strategy is still being tested with consumers and may take time to prove out at scale. Google is pitching an AI agent ecosystem to consumers who may not buy it
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet continues to receive strong analyst support and is trading near highs, but some market commentary suggests the stock may already reflect much of the recent AI optimism. Alphabet Trades Close to 52-Week High: Buy, Sell, or Hold the Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo paused freeway rides and suspended or reduced service in several cities after robotaxis struggled with construction zones and flooded roads, raising execution and safety concerns within Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports that Waymo expanded pauses to more cities over flooding issues added to concerns that the robotaxi rollout may face longer delays and higher remediation costs. Waymo expands pause to four cities as robotaxis keep driving into floods

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $383.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $334.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $320.40. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $404.47.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GOOG. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.65.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Profile

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.