Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Windward Capital Management Co. CA

Key Points

• Windward Capital Management trimmed its Alphabet stake by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,205 shares and leaving it with 274,272 shares worth about $85.8 million.
• Alphabet’s recent news flow has been largely positive, with investor enthusiasm building around its AI business, new AI-focused product launches, and plans to fund AI infrastructure spending, including a reported yen bond sale.
• The company also reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share from $0.21.

Windward Capital Management Co. CA cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 274,272 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,205 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 6.8% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Windward Capital Management Co. CA's holdings in Alphabet were worth $85,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around its AI business, with multiple reports saying the company has nearly caught Nvidia in market value and that investors are betting on Google’s strength across the full AI stack, from cloud infrastructure to models and applications. Alphabet's 160% rally in a year reflects value of owning 'most of the stack' in AI
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also highlighted AI momentum by expanding Google Finance in Europe and launching new AI-focused features, reinforcing the view that the company is turning product innovation into monetization opportunities. Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment improved after reports that Alphabet is funding AI infrastructure with debt sales, including its first yen bond offering, which suggests management remains confident enough to keep spending aggressively on growth. Alphabet considers first yen bond sale to fund AI goals
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s cybersecurity team said it thwarted an AI-enabled hacking attempt, which underscores the company’s security capabilities but also highlights rising threats across the sector. Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, is recalling nearly 3,800 robotaxis over a software issue that could send vehicles onto flooded roads, adding regulatory and execution risk around autonomous driving. Waymo to recall nearly 3,800 robotaxis over self-driving software issue
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faces a $135 million Android data settlement headline, which revives privacy and legal overhangs even if the financial impact is manageable relative to the company’s size. Android Owners: You Could Get Part of Google's $135 Million Data Settlement

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $388.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 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 1-year low of $156.16 and a 1-year high of $402.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $322.04 and its 200 day moving average is $313.71.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total value of $9,859,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,674,560 shares in the company, valued at $508,028,012.80. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856 in the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $407.86.

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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