Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Ascent Group LLC's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC boosted its Alphabet stake 3.2% in Q4 to 154,815 shares (worth $48.46M), making GOOGL its 10th-largest holding at about 1.7% of the firm's portfolio.
• Alphabet beat Q4 estimates with EPS $2.82 vs $2.57 and revenue $113.83B vs $111.24B; GOOGL stock is up ~3.6%, has a market cap of ~$4.03T, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $367.06.
• Outlook is mixed: analyst price-target upgrades and Broadcom/Anthropic partnerships support AI/cloud upside, but substantial insider selling, an Aptoide antitrust suit, ad-competition from Meta and ad-fraud risks are potential headwinds.

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,815 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,753 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.7% of Ascent Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $48,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Members Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. White Wing Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,155 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,799 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, MRA Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 1,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.6%

GOOGL stock opened at $332.82 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $306.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.12. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.10 and a 12 month high of $349.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 7.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $415.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.06.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS and other analysts pointed to the extended Broadcom–Google agreement as easing investor concerns about TPU supply and long-term AI infrastructure continuity—this reduces a key operational risk for Google’s cloud/AI growth story. Broadcom deal with Google signals stronger AI demand but long-term risks remain: UBS
• Positive Sentiment: Citi put Alphabet on a 90-day “upside Catalyst Watch,” flagging a cluster of product, event and AI-related catalysts that could lift the stock into July—an institutional signal that near-term momentum may continue. Citi is bullish on Google stock in near term ahead of several catalysts
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s expanding partnership with Broadcom and Alphabet on custom AI chips reinforces Google’s role as an AI infrastructure provider and supports upside for TPU monetization opportunities. Did Anthropic, Alphabet, and Broadcom Just Say Checkmate to Nvidia?
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile investors continue to add to positions (Stanley Druckenmiller materially increased his Alphabet stake), a demand signal that can support price momentum. Stanley Druckenmiller Made 1 Huge Bet That Still Looks Attractive Today and Cut 2 Top Positions
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves and price-target changes: some firms raised/maintained bullish targets while others trimmed forecasts—keeps sentiment constructive but highlights divergent views on upside magnitude. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Product and ecosystem activity ahead of Google Cloud Next (partners showcasing AI-native tools) supports ongoing enterprise demand narratives but is incremental vs. headline catalysts. groundcover Showcases AI-Native Observability at Google Cloud Next 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust risk resurfaced as rival app store Aptoide sued Google alleging monopoly over Android app distribution and billing—this could increase legal and regulatory scrutiny, potentially leading to fines or business changes if it gains traction. Google sued by rival app store Aptoide over alleged monopoly
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure in advertising: reports project Meta could overtake Google in global digital-ad revenue this year, and Meta’s new Muse Spark model is reinvigorating its ad-product momentum—both trends pose downside risk to Google’s core ad growth. Meta poised to surpass Google in digital ad revenue for first time, report says
• Negative Sentiment: Ad-quality and fraud concerns (new “pushpaganda” scam) highlight ongoing risks to user trust and publisher/advertiser effectiveness on Google surfaces, which could pressure monetization if widespread. HUMAN’s Satori Researchers Identify Novel Ad Fraud and Scareware Threat, Pushpaganda

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were 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 owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.99, for a total transaction of $33,934.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,580,469.82. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock valued at $104,505,914. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

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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