Windward Capital Management Co. CA Has $85.85 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Windward Capital Management Co. CA lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 274,272 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,205 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 6.8% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $85,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around its AI business, with multiple reports saying the company has nearly caught Nvidia in market value and that investors are betting on Google’s strength across the full AI stack, from cloud infrastructure to models and applications. Alphabet’s 160% rally in a year reflects value of owning ‘most of the stack’ in AI
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also highlighted AI momentum by expanding Google Finance in Europe and launching new AI-focused features, reinforcing the view that the company is turning product innovation into monetization opportunities. Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment improved after reports that Alphabet is funding AI infrastructure with debt sales, including its first yen bond offering, which suggests management remains confident enough to keep spending aggressively on growth. Alphabet considers first yen bond sale to fund AI goals
• Neutral Sentiment: Google’s cybersecurity team said it thwarted an AI-enabled hacking attempt, which underscores the company’s security capabilities but also highlights rising threats across the sector. Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, is recalling nearly 3,800 robotaxis over a software issue that could send vehicles onto flooded roads, adding regulatory and execution risk around autonomous driving. Waymo to recall nearly 3,800 robotaxis over self-driving software issue
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faces a $135 million Android data settlement headline, which revives privacy and legal overhangs even if the financial impact is manageable relative to the company’s size. Android Owners: You Could Get Part of Google’s $135 Million Data Settlement

Alphabet Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $388.64 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $322.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.16 and a 1-year high of $402.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. KeyCorp set a $425.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $407.86.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,923,235.59. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,187,638.65. The trade was a 22.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

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.