Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Live Oak Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Alphabet by 8.5% to 66,004 shares (about $20.66 million), making the stock its 5th-largest holding and roughly 2.8% of the firm's assets.
• Insider selling was notable: CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares and Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050, with insiders offloading a total of 2,037,294 shares (~$94.2M) last quarter; insiders now own 11.64% of the company.
• Corporate catalysts include a strategic AI partnership — Alphabet plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic (a $10B tranche now, $30B contingent) which boosts AI/Cloud upside but raises execution and contingent-capital risks, while analysts have generally raised targets (consensus target ≈ $369.67).

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,004 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,112 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.8% of Live Oak Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Members Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. White Wing Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,155 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,799 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total transaction of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,037,294 shares of company stock valued at $94,216,897 over the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.6%

GOOGL opened at $344.40 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $309.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.98. 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 $4.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.12. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.84 and a twelve month high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Alphabet News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Dbs Bank increased their price target on Alphabet from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Alphabet from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Phillip Securities increased their price target on Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.67.

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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