Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Increased by Central Pacific Bank Trust Division

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,479 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,518 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.7% of Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $301.00 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $349.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $317.62 and a 200 day moving average of $293.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. 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:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.25. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total transaction of $318,580.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,110,165 shares of company stock valued at $118,134,117. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DeepMind hired Jasjeet Sekhon, Bridgewater’s chief scientist, as chief strategy officer — a high‑profile talent win that reinforces Alphabet’s DeepMind AI bench and long‑term product roadmap. Exclusive: Bridgewater’s chief scientist Sekhon to join Google’s DeepMind AI unit
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile endorsement: Elon Musk tweeted that Google will “win the AI race in the West,” a bullish signal for market perception of Alphabet’s AI leadership. Elon Musk Says China Will Win The AI Race, But Here’s Where SpaceX Will Win
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Google’s new “Stitch” AI design features are pressuring rivals (e.g., Figma’s stock fell), underscoring expanding addressable market for Google’s AI tools. Figma’s stock drops 11% in two days after Google releases ‘vibe design’ product
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Alphabet’s operational strength (consecutive earnings beats, Cloud acceleration), supporting the bullish analyst consensus and relative outperformance among mega‑caps. 2 Tech Giants Holding Their Ground While the Market Slides
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed: CEO Sundar Pichai sold ~32,500 shares (~$10M) and Director John Hennessy sold a small stake — notable but small relative to total insider holdings; monitor if these continue. Insider filing: Sundar Pichai sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in the feeds appears anomalous/zero and provides no clear signal (no days‑to‑cover build reported).
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive takes: Analysts compare Snowflake and Alphabet on cloud analytics — SNOW’s momentum is notable but doesn’t negate Google Cloud’s growth trajectory. Snowflake vs Alphabet: Which Cloud Analytics Stock Has an Edge Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about massive hyperscaler AI spending — analysts flag $410B+ capex across hyperscalers and question near‑term returns, a theme that can pressure tech multiples including GOOGL. Forget the War Headlines: This Is the Real Reason Tech Stocks Are Struggling
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation debate persists: coverage notes shifting investment story as AI deals and capex raise questions about near‑term upside despite solid fundamentals. How The Alphabet (GOOGL) Investment Story Is Shifting With AI Deals And Valuation Questions

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Arete Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Alphabet from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Alphabet from $320.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.18.

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.