Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Lowered by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson trimmed its stake by 16.4%, selling 190,935 shares to hold 971,186 Alphabet shares worth about $304 million, which still represents 3.0% of the fund’s portfolio and is its largest holding.
• Broadcom signed a multi‑year deal to design and supply Google’s custom AI chips and related components through 2031, improving Google Cloud’s hardware roadmap and monetization potential for large‑scale AI racks.
• Alphabet beat Q4 earnings (EPS $2.82 vs. $2.57 consensus) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, but recent insider selling — including CEO Sundar Pichai — could add near‑term negative sentiment.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 971,186 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 190,935 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 3.0% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $303,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,524,841,000 after buying an additional 4,008,374 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,944,208,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 50,732,476 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,333,076,000 after buying an additional 6,874,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,186,112 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,984,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,292 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom signed a multi‑year deal to design and supply Google’s custom AI chips and other components through 2031, improving Google’s hardware roadmap and supply visibility for its large‑scale AI racks — a direct support to Google Cloud and AI capacity planning. Broadcom signs long-term deal to develop Google's custom AI chips
• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom’s expanded collaboration also covers supplying computing capacity (and chips) tied to Google’s infrastructure and includes Anthropic access — this can monetize Google’s AI racks and support third‑party workloads running on Google’s platform. Broadcom agrees to expanded chip deals with Google, Anthropic
• Positive Sentiment: A Wall Street analyst reiterated a constructive outlook and updated price target on Alphabet, signaling continued institutional support despite near‑term operational questions in some units. Wall Street analyst updates Google stock price target
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet stands to benefit materially if SpaceX’s IPO values the company’s early stake highly — analysts have flagged a potential multibillion‑dollar windfall that would bolster Alphabet’s balance sheet. 2 Stocks About To Make a Killing on the SpaceX IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader AI market commentary highlights Alphabet among a handful of mega‑caps driving AI investment and sentiment; such macro positioning supports long‑term narrative but is already priced into multiples. Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft Are Sending Shockwaves Through Wall Street With This $16 Billion Warning
• Neutral Sentiment: Competition and supply dynamics: Intel is pursuing advanced packaging conversations with Amazon and Google, which could alter future chip supply/packaging choices for hyperscalers — watch for execution and cost implications. Intel Targets Amazon, Google on AI Chip Packaging
• Negative Sentiment: The New York Times raised questions about the accuracy and sourcing of Google’s AI “overviews,” which increases reputational and potential regulatory risk around generative search features — a readiness risk for user trust and moderation costs. How Accurate Are Google's A.I. Overviews?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are pressing Google on water and power usage at U.S. data centers; recent project cancellations and shareholder scrutiny could increase operational constraints or delay capacity expansion. Investors press Amazon, Microsoft and Google on water, power use in US data centers
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by Alphabet’s CAO (modest size) was reported; while not large, these disclosures can add short‑term negative sentiment headlines. Insider Selling: Alphabet CAO Sells Stock

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4%

GOOGL stock opened at $299.99 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $349.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.12. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $308.62 and a 200-day moving average of $297.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were 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 was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. China Renaissance increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $348.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.33.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at $856,605,814.08. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,101,844 shares of company stock worth $115,147,751. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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