Howard Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management cut its stake in Alphabet by 15.8% in Q4, selling 20,718 shares to hold 110,281 shares valued at about $34.52 million, making Alphabet roughly 0.4% of the firm's holdings and its 29th largest position.
• Insider activity shows notable selling: insiders disposed of 2,037,294 shares worth about $94.2 million in the last quarter, though insiders still collectively own 11.64% of the company.
• Positive catalysts include new eighth‑generation TPUs, the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and a $750M partner fund, plus a large Merck cloud/AI commitment, prompting several analyst target increases and a MarketBeat consensus rating of Moderate Buy (consensus target ~$369.67).

Howard Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,281 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 20,718 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.4% of Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $34,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $20,886,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lifted its position in Alphabet by 17.6% in the second quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 3,888 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 11.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 485,486 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $85,557,000 after purchasing an additional 48,805 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 48,204 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled two eighth‑generation TPUs (separate chips for training and inference), a move that could lower AI infrastructure costs and help Google Cloud compete with Nvidia. This product push underpins revenue and margin upside in cloud/AI services. Google Cloud launches two new AI chips to compete with Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet amplified its enterprise AI strategy at Cloud Next — launching the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and a $750M partner fund to accelerate agentic AI adoption. That accelerates monetization paths for AI in Google Cloud. Google makes an interesting choice with its new agent building tool for enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: Large commercial deals are following: Merck committed up to $1B to use Google Cloud and Gemini Enterprise, validating enterprise demand and multiyear revenue potential for cloud AI services. Merck to partner with Google Cloud on AI initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms raised targets or reiterated bullish views (BMO to $410, UBS up to $375, Cantor to $395, KeyCorp to $380; JPMorgan and BofA reiterated Buy), signaling analyst confidence in Cloud + AI-driven growth ahead of Q1 results. BMO Raises Alphabet’s Target to $410 and Calls It “the Best Way to Own AI”
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is rolling consumer and workplace AI features (Wallet travel updates, Workspace automation, Chrome “auto browse”) that expand product engagement but are longer‑term monetization plays. Google updates Workspace to make AI your new office intern
• Neutral Sentiment: Independent bullish commentary (e.g., investor columns and pundit targets like Jim Cramer) support investor conviction but are opinion‑driven rather than new fundamentals. Jim Cramer sets Google stock price target
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators are pressuring Google to give rival AI assistants access to Android features — a potential regulatory move that could weaken Android‑centric advantages and complicate Google’s ad/assistant ecosystem. Google Faces New EU Pressure to Give AI Rivals Android Access
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling was reported, which briefly pressured shares; while not necessarily indicative of fundamentals, it can spook short‑term sentiment ahead of earnings. Alphabet Inc. NASDAQ: GOOGL Shares Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,037,294 shares of company stock worth $94,216,897 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $357.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial set a $385.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Alphabet from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.67.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $338.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $308.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.92. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.84 and a twelve month high of $349.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Alphabet Profile

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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