Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $410.60 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,311,819 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 68,452 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 6.6% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $410,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,944,208,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $4,338,397,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 17,667.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,245,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,686,640,000 after purchasing an additional 15,159,273 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 51.7% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,817,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,607,232,000 after purchasing an additional 10,843,853 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $287.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $311.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $349.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its 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 return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.41, for a total value of $318,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,631 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,091.71. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,092,234 shares of company stock valued at $112,487,971. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. President Capital lifted their price target on Alphabet from $323.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $348.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC lifted their target price on Alphabet from $335.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.06.

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.