Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Lowered by Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,487 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,829 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.2% of Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $53,000. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 37.9% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. New Street Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,091.71. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.92, for a total value of $9,877,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,818,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $856,605,814.08. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,092,234 shares of company stock valued at $112,487,971. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $287.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $311.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued 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 company had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

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

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.