Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Stableford Capital II LLC’s Largest Position

Stableford Capital II LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,645 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,903 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 6.4% of Stableford Capital II LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $416,217,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,731 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $14,277,000 after buying an additional 7,180 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after buying an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 1,457,732 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $256,896,000 after buying an additional 65,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 50,064 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,171,000 after buying an additional 8,746 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google rolled out Veo 3.1 Lite, a lower‑cost video AI model aimed at broadening developer adoption by delivering similar speed at under half the cost versus premium models — a direct product push that could expand AI usage and cloud/compute revenue. Google Unveils Cheaper AI Video Model to Expand Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction was aided by a geopolitical tailwind: shares jumped after reports President Trump signaled a willingness to end the multi‑week conflict with Iran, reducing risk‑off pressure on mega‑cap tech stocks. Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy on GOOGL with a $400 price target, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment and providing an upside anchor for investors. Needham Reiterates Buy on Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) With $400 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Reports show high‑profile investors adding to positions (e.g., Stanley Druckenmiller), and coverage that highlights Alphabet as a core AI/cloud compounder — both support demand and sentiment. Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller Piled Into 2 of the Hottest AI Stocks for a Second Consecutive Quarter
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet remains featured in thematic AI/cloud roundups (cloud backlog growth and strong Q4 cloud revenue cited), underscoring long‑term structural demand even as near‑term volatility persists. 5 Cloud and AI Infrastructure Stocks Powering the Next Wave of AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet issued very long‑dated debt (100‑year issuance), a financing move that locks cheap funding long‑term but has mixed near‑term implications for capital allocation. Alphabet Taps Debt Markets With 100-Year Issuance
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/UX updates around Gmail and crypto wallet integrations were highlighted in recent coverage; this flags product complexity in crypto flows but is not yet a clear revenue catalyst. New Gmail update highlights major crypto wallet struggle
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Indonesia summoned Google over non‑compliance with new child social media curbs, highlighting widening global regulatory scrutiny that could increase compliance costs or product restrictions abroad. Indonesia summons Meta and Google over non-compliance with child social media curbs, minister says
• Negative Sentiment: Publishers such as Future PLC blamed recent Google search changes for pressure on higher‑margin ad revenues, a reminder that platform shifts can disrupt partners and attract criticism/regulatory attention. Future shares flop on profit warning as Google search changes hit ad revenues

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Alphabet from $279.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. New Street Research increased their price objective on Alphabet from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,092,234 shares of company stock valued at $112,487,971. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $287.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $311.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.96. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $349.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The firm had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Alphabet Company 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.