Castellan Group Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Castellan Group boosted its stake in Alphabet by 414.4% in Q4, buying an additional 29,890 shares to hold 37,102 shares worth about $11.64 million, making GOOG its 3rd-largest holding (~1.5% of the portfolio).
• Insider selling has been significant: John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares for roughly $14.34 million, and insiders disposed of 2,069,794 shares (≈$104.85 million) in the last quarter.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally bullish—multiple upgrades and higher targets (consensus price target ≈ $346) cite Google Cloud momentum and new AI/TPU hardware as primary growth catalysts.

Castellan Group increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 414.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,102 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,890 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.5% of Castellan Group's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Castellan Group's holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness ahead of Google Cloud Next and earnings: analysts have named Alphabet a top pick and one analyst sees meaningful upside tied to Google Cloud and AI momentum, supporting continued investor interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New AI hardware roadmap: multiple reports and Bloomberg coverage indicate Google will announce a new generation of inference-focused TPUs (custom AI chips), which could improve margins and cloud differentiation if adoption scales. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Google is in design talks with Marvell for AI chips have surfaced; the news could be strategic (diversifying suppliers) but remains unconfirmed and analysts have disputed the deal’s immediacy, making market impact uncertain. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Tech/ETF pressure: broader tech weakness and pullbacks in major semiconductor and FAAMG names are contributing to Alphabet’s slide as ETFs like QQQ and VTI show tech-heavy drawdowns that weigh on GOOG. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large reported 13F moves raise selling noise: a Quiver Quant filing shows Cardano Risk Management dramatically reduced its reported GOOG/GOOGL positions (~90% cuts), which could create short-term selling pressure (filing/parse caveats apply). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director John L. Hennessy disclosed a sale of 1,050 shares on April 15, a small insider sale that adds to the day’s negative signals for some investors. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,069,794 shares of company stock worth $104,854,147. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $335.40 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.40 and a 1 year high of $350.15. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $306.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alphabet from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.03.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

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