Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stock Sold by Howland Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management reduced its Alphabet stake by 3.4%, selling 16,880 shares and retaining 477,244 shares valued at approximately $164.2 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s third-largest holding and represents about 5.8% of its portfolio.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: Alphabet has a consensus “Buy” rating from MarketBeat, with an average price target of $425.04, despite some target-price revisions.
• Alphabet’s latest quarter missed expectations, with earnings of $2.12 per share and revenue of $127.58 billion, while heavy AI and data-center spending pressured free cash flow. Rapid Google Cloud growth and expanding AI initiatives provide positive long-term momentum, but slowing advertising growth and regulatory pressure remain concerns.

Howland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 477,244 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 16,880 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 5.8% of Howland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $164,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the first quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the first quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the first quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evansbrook LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOGL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $515.00 to $450.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Alphabet from $395.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $425.04.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of GOOGL opened at $324.89 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.67 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $341.50 and its 200-day moving average is $340.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by ($0.90). Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. The business had revenue of $127.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.96 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated: Cloud revenue more than doubled, rising 103% year over year and exceeding expectations. The results suggest Alphabet’s investments in AI infrastructure, cloud capacity and custom TPU chips are generating meaningful demand. Google Cloud Revenue Just Grew 103%, so Why Is the Stock Falling?
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization opportunities are expanding: Google is rolling out AI Search ads internationally, opening its AI experiences to more third-party apps, and reportedly attracting interest from OpenAI for its TPU chips. These developments could diversify Alphabet’s revenue and strengthen its position against Nvidia in AI infrastructure. Google expands AI Search ads globally as core ad growth slows
• Neutral Sentiment: New Gemini 4 Carbon launch: Google introduced a cybersecurity-focused AI model that received positive attention from Elon Musk. The launch supports Alphabet’s long-term AI strategy, but its near-term financial contribution remains uncertain. Google launches Gemini 4 Carbon AI model with cybersecurity focus
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly results missed estimates: Alphabet reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 per share, below consensus estimates ranging from $2.94 to $3.02. Revenue of $127.6 billion also fell short of expectations near $128.2 billion, while profit declined from the prior year. Alphabet Q3 Earnings and Revenues Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Cash flow is the main concern: Free cash flow fell as Alphabet spent heavily on data centers, cloud capacity and AI research. Investors are concerned that the rapid expansion may pressure returns and limit buybacks, even as cloud revenue grows quickly. Alphabet's free cash flow sinks further
• Negative Sentiment: Advertising momentum was mixed: YouTube advertising revenue rose 9% to $11.2 billion but missed the $11.43 billion analyst estimate, while broader search-ad growth slowed. South Korea also imposed an app-market fine, adding to regulatory pressure.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known for its Google subsidiary. Google operates a global internet-services business centered on online search, digital advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and a broad range of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools.

Google Cloud provides infrastructure, data analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software services to businesses, governments, and other organizations. Alphabet also develops consumer hardware, including Pixel devices and products for connected homes, while investing in emerging businesses through its “Other Bets” segment, including autonomous transportation and life sciences initiatives.

Alphabet was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary and provided a separate structure for its expanding portfolio of businesses.

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