Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,612 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,125 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.7% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.3% during the first quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 5,588 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Broderick Brian C boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 138,983 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $39,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455 shares in the last quarter. Decker Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $263,000. Greenwood Gearhart LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 115.6% during the 1st quarter. Greenwood Gearhart LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Cambridge Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 3,626 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. 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: Alphabet’s latest quarter continued to support the long-term growth case: revenue rose 24% to $119.8 billion, Google Cloud growth accelerated to 82%, cloud operating income more than tripled, and its backlog reached $514 billion. Search revenue also grew 17%, easing concerns that AI tools are undermining the core advertising business. Alphabet quarter and valuation analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm is being supported by Alphabet’s potential to commercialize its internally developed AI chips, with initial external revenue reportedly expected by year-end. Analysts and value investors remain constructive; KeyCorp maintains an “Overweight” rating and a $445 target, while Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy.” Alphabet AI silicon opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding its Play Signal age-assurance technology worldwide by the end of 2026, potentially strengthening Android’s safety tools and developer ecosystem. Waymo also began restoring freeway service, a sign of progress after earlier operational restrictions. Google age-assurance technology
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimates were mixed: KeyCorp raised its full-year 2026 EPS forecast substantially but trimmed quarterly and 2027 estimates slightly, while Erste Group lifted its 2027 forecast. This indicates strong near-term expectations but uncertainty about longer-term spending and profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure remains Alphabet’s planned $195 billion–$205 billion of 2026 capital spending. Quarterly capital expenditures reached $44.9 billion and free cash flow turned negative, prompting investors to question whether AI infrastructure returns will justify the investment. Alphabet AI spending concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Additional risks include renewed fears that lower-cost AI models could pressure technology valuations, potential European private damages claims following Google’s $1 billion fine, and reports of a DeepMind research-team restructuring. Recent insider and major-shareholder sales are also a modest sentiment headwind, although they do not necessarily signal deteriorating fundamentals. Google European damages risk

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 600,465 shares of company stock valued at $16,228,202 in the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $336.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $359.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $339.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.82 and a 12 month high of $408.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.15 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. CICC Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price target (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $419.86.

About Alphabet

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.