Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Elevated Capital Advisors cut its stake in Alphabet (GOOG) by 28.5% in Q4, selling 3,750 shares and leaving 9,399 shares valued at $2.949 million at quarter-end.
• Bullish catalysts include Alphabet securing classified AI access for the U.S. Department of Defense, analyst price‑target increases, and large AI investments (notably with Anthropic) that could boost Google Cloud and AI monetization.
• Offsetting risks: employee backlash over the Pentagon work, Alphabet's exit from a $100M Pentagon drone AI contest, rising EU regulatory scrutiny of cloud/AI services, and recent insider selling (2,037,294 shares worth ~$94.2M in three months).

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,399 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,750 shares during the quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,438.5% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured classified AI access for the U.S. Department of Defense, opening a potential high‑margin, recurring revenue channel for Google Cloud that helps diversify beyond advertising. Google signs classified AI deal with Pentagon
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc recently raised its price target on Alphabet, signaling some analysts expect more upside from Google Cloud and AI monetization. KeyBanc Raised the Price Target on Alphabet
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s big strategic AI investments — including a reported multi‑billion investment relationship with Anthropic — underpin long‑term growth optionality in models and cloud compute demand. Alphabet To Invest Up To $40 Billion In Anthropic
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings and the Cloud margin story are the immediate catalysts — analysts expect strong revenue growth but will scrutinize capex, depreciation and margin guidance tied to heavy AI investment. Alphabet Earnings Preview: Q1 Earnings Hinge On Margins And The Cloud
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is contributing agentic commerce/authentication work to industry standards (FIDO Alliance), a technical positive for enterprise adoption but unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially. Google and Mastercard Contribute Agentic Commerce Standards to FIDO Alliance
• Negative Sentiment: Employee objections and public criticism over the Pentagon deal have surfaced; internal unrest can create reputational and executional distractions. A Google researcher says they're 'ashamed' after the company signed a Pentagon deal
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet unexpectedly exited a $100M Pentagon drone AI competition after ethics concerns, a signal that some defense opportunities may be inconsistent with internal governance and could limit revenue capture. Alphabet Stock Dips as Google Exits $100M Pentagon AI Drone Contract
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk is rising: the EU is shifting enforcement toward cloud and AI services, which could pressure product access and competitive positioning in Europe. EU rules reining in Big Tech will now target cloud services and AI
• Negative Sentiment: Some funds disclosed reductions in GOOGL holdings ahead of earnings, indicating profit‑taking and positioning risk into results. Fund Update: Handelsbanken Fonder AB Disclosed New Holdings

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $347.50 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.49 and a fifty-two week high of $350.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $310.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.97.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Alphabet's revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,037,294 shares of company stock worth $94,216,897 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.