HBW Advisory Services LLC Decreases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• HBW Advisory reduced its stake in Alphabet by 9.6% in Q4, holding 25,939 shares worth $8,119,000 after selling 2,751 shares, making Alphabet its 26th largest position.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently — CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares ($10.89M) and John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares ($14.34M), with insiders offloading 2,037,294 shares worth $94.22M over the last 90 days.
• Analysts have been raising ratings and targets (average price target $369.67, consensus "Moderate Buy") while Alphabet committed up to $40 billion to Anthropic, a move that boosts AI/cloud optimism but introduces contingent capital and regulatory risks.

HBW Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,939 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,751 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.9% of HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 278.8% in the fourth quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 250 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.18, for a total transaction of $10,893,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,179,372 shares in the company, valued at $730,481,906.96. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,037,294 shares of company stock worth $94,216,897. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Raymond James Financial raised Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Arete Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.67.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $344.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.41. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.84 and a twelve month high of $349.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet commits to a strategic AI partnership that secures long-term model and compute capacity — Google will invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic (a $10B tranche now, $30B contingent on milestones). The deal strengthens Alphabet’s access to leading generative-AI models, supports product roadmap and cloud demand, and reduces the risk of competitors locking up third‑party model supply. Google to invest up to $40B in Anthropic in cash and compute
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support is lifting sentiment — multiple firms have reaffirmed or raised ratings/targets (Jefferies, Needham, JPMorgan, UBS moves reported), reinforcing a bullish view that AI and Cloud will drive upside to estimates. This analyst momentum is helping push the stock higher into the next earnings print. Alphabet: Jefferies keeps its 'Buy' rating
• Positive Sentiment: Product and infrastructure catalysts: new TPU 8i inference chip, expanded Workspace AI features and enterprise wins (Ulta, AutoZone migrations) point to faster, lower‑cost AI scaling and increased Cloud/ads monetization potential. These operational advances support margins and longer-term revenue growth. Alphabet Stock Gains After Unveiling New AI Inference Chip
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector labor disruption from AI: broader reporting that AI is displacing tech jobs may pressure sentiment for the sector but is only an indirect, mixed impact on Alphabet — potential cost savings versus reputation/PR and macro consumption effects. Whether It's 'Disruption' or 'Renormalization,' AI Is Killing Tech Jobs
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term earnings setup: several outlets and banks expect a modest Q1 beat driven by AI and Cloud strength; this supports the rally but leaves the stock exposed to any surprise guidance. Alphabet set to report modest beat for Q1 driven by AI, Cloud growth
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in Europe: the European Commission is pressuring Google to give rival AI assistants deeper Android access — a move that could weaken Alphabet’s ecosystem advantage and advertising/engagement moat if implemented. Regulatory actions remain a meaningful downside risk. Google Faces New EU Pressure to Give AI Rivals Android Access
• Negative Sentiment: Large contingent capital commitment and valuation exposure: while the Anthropic deal is strategic, the $30B contingent tranche and Anthropic’s ~$350B valuation create execution and financial-commitment risks if performance targets aren’t met or scrutiny increases. Investors may worry about future cash/compute obligations and valuation optics. Google plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, Bloomberg reports

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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