Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Columbia Asset Management's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Columbia Asset Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,399 shares and ending with 77,166 shares valued at about $24.15 million. Alphabet remained its third-largest holding, accounting for 4.3% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with several analysts raising price targets after Alphabet’s earnings beat. The stock carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $407.86.
• Alphabet continues to benefit from AI momentum through new Google Ads tools, cloud partnerships, and AI search/agent initiatives, though it still faces regulatory overhangs such as an EU antitrust probe and a new UK lawsuit.

Columbia Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,166 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,399 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 4.3% of Columbia Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,338,397,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 6,874,381 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23,402.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 6,118,547 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,487,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092,513 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 259.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 7,221,115 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,755,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210,434 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price objective (up from $360.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $407.86.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled upcoming AI-powered bidding and budget-pacing tools for Google Ads, which could make Search and Shopping advertising more efficient and attractive for advertisers. Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets on Alphabet, including DBS Bank to $460 and other firms lifting estimates after the company’s earnings beat, reinforcing the view that results remain stronger than expected. DBS Bank Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet to 460
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s partnership with OTB Group on a generative-AI virtual try-on experience adds to the narrative that Alphabet can monetize AI across enterprise and retail use cases. Google Cloud Partners With OTB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong investor appetite for AI leaders such as Google, and recent coverage continues to frame Alphabet as one of the main beneficiaries of the AI spending cycle. Google, Broadcom Drive Delirious Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports on Google’s AI “agent” efforts and AI search features suggest Alphabet is expanding its product lead in next-generation search and automation tools. Meta, Google enter AI agent race
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also getting more time to address EU regulators’ concerns in an ongoing antitrust investigation, which removes some immediate pressure but does not eliminate the legal overhang. Google Gets More Time in EU Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a new UK lawsuit over online display ads, adding another antitrust/legal risk that could weigh on sentiment if regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Google Faces New UK Lawsuit Over Online Display Ads

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $400.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.20 and a 12-month high of $402.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $318.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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