Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• Baskin Financial Services reduced its Alphabet stake by 4.2% in Q4 to 335,573 shares valued at $105.3 million, which still represents roughly 7.9% of its portfolio and is its largest holding.
• Alphabet has landed a classified AI deal with the U.S. Department of Defense and is making multibillion-dollar AI investments (e.g., Anthropic), fueling analyst price‑target increases and potential Google Cloud revenue upside.
• Despite a fiscal Q1 beat on revenue and EPS and a consensus "Buy" rating, Alphabet faces employee backlash over defense work, selective contract exits, and rising EU regulatory scrutiny that could constrain its cloud/AI expansion.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,573 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 14,868 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 7.9% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $105,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 8,580 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. 5T Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $408,000. Seeds Investor LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 5,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $2,456,000. Finally, Summit Financial Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 4,369 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured classified AI access for the U.S. Department of Defense, opening a potential high‑margin, recurring revenue channel for Google Cloud that helps diversify beyond advertising. Google signs classified AI deal with Pentagon
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc recently raised its price target on Alphabet, signaling some analysts expect more upside from Google Cloud and AI monetization. KeyBanc Raised the Price Target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s big strategic AI investments — including a reported multi‑billion investment relationship with Anthropic — underpin long‑term growth optionality in models and cloud compute demand. Alphabet To Invest Up To $40 Billion In Anthropic
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings and the Cloud margin story are the immediate catalysts — analysts expect strong revenue growth but will scrutinize capex, depreciation and margin guidance tied to heavy AI investment. Alphabet Earnings Preview: Q1 Earnings Hinge On Margins And The Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is contributing agentic commerce/authentication work to industry standards (FIDO Alliance), a technical positive for enterprise adoption but unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially. Google and Mastercard Contribute Agentic Commerce Standards to FIDO Alliance
• Negative Sentiment: Employee objections and public criticism over the Pentagon deal have surfaced; internal unrest can create reputational and executional distractions. A Google researcher says they're 'ashamed' after the company signed a Pentagon deal
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet unexpectedly exited a $100M Pentagon drone AI competition after ethics concerns, a signal that some defense opportunities may be inconsistent with internal governance and could limit revenue capture. Alphabet Stock Dips as Google Exits $100M Pentagon AI Drone Contract
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk is rising: the EU is shifting enforcement toward cloud and AI services, which could pressure product access and competitive positioning in Europe. EU rules reining in Big Tech will now target cloud services and AI
• Negative Sentiment: Some funds disclosed reductions in GOOGL holdings ahead of earnings, indicating profit‑taking and positioning risk into results. Fund Update: Handelsbanken Fonder AB Disclosed New Holdings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.73.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $347.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock's 50-day moving average is $310.00 and its 200-day moving average is $306.97. The company has a market cap of $4.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.13. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.49 and a 52-week high of $350.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The firm's revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,037,294 shares of company stock valued at $94,216,897. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Company 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.

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