Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $32.36 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management cut its Alphabet stake by 14.1% in Q4, selling 16,909 shares and now owning 103,117 shares worth about $32.36 million.
• Insider selling has been significant: CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares (~$10.0M) and insiders sold 2,068,744 shares worth $104.5M in the past three months, leaving insiders with 12.99% ownership.
• Alphabet faces mixed catalysts—talks to permit Gemini in classified Pentagon settings and a long‑term NiSource power deal support AI/data‑center growth, while rising AI capex and EU antitrust/regulatory proposals pose margin and ad‑defensibility risks.

Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,117 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 16,909 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $32,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 4,068 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Google is in talks with the U.S. Department of Defense to allow its Gemini models to be used in classified settings — a potential large, high‑visibility contract that would expand Alphabet’s government AI footprint and validate Gemini for sensitive enterprise use. Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: QuiverQuant flags a large institutional buying update: SG Americas reportedly added ~9.8M GOOGL shares in its 13F — a sign of meaningful institutional demand. Fund Update: SG Americas Securities, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet signed a long‑term energy supply deal (NiSource) to power a large Indiana data center — reduces power risk for hyperscale operations and supports cloud/AI capacity growth. NiSource signs long-term power deal with Alphabet, expands Amazon agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Google announced personalized image generation tied to Gemini and new features (Nano Banana) — tangible AI product rollouts that support user engagement and future monetization paths. Google will let users connect their photos to the Gemini chatbot and Nano Banana
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships (e.g., Thoma Bravo) and analyst/upside coverage highlight enterprise AI/Cyber expansion — supports longer‑term revenue diversification beyond ads. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish analyst and retail pieces reiterate Alphabet as a top long‑term growth/AI pick — helpful for sentiment but largely opinion‑driven. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Price forecasts from ML models and ranking lists (Finbold, Motley Fool) are circulating — they draw attention but are speculative and not a primary driver of fundamentals. Machine learning algorithm predicts Google stock price on April 30, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: The EU’s Digital Markets Act proposals would force Google to share detailed search/ranking/click data with rivals — a material regulatory risk that could weaken search defensibility and ad targeting advantages. Google should allow third-party search engines access to data, EU says
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is guiding toward higher AI capex for 2026 (data center, custom silicon, energy costs) — analysts warn this could compress margins and free cash flow in the near term. Alphabet Shares Rise 7% YTD: Buy, Sell, or Hold the GOOGL Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and antitrust pressures (Android/App distribution suits, advertiser arbitration) and some asset managers trimming positions add regulatory/legal downside and selling signals. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $346.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,068,744 shares of company stock worth $104,505,914. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of GOOG opened at $339.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $305.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.90. The company has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.40 and a 52-week high of $350.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Alphabet 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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