Sterneck Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Sterneck Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,990 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,710 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.8% of Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management raised its position in Alphabet by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 4,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Google is in talks with the U.S. Department of Defense to allow its Gemini models to be used in classified settings — a potential large, high‑visibility contract that would expand Alphabet’s government AI footprint and validate Gemini for sensitive enterprise use. Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: QuiverQuant flags a large institutional buying update: SG Americas reportedly added ~9.8M GOOGL shares in its 13F — a sign of meaningful institutional demand. Fund Update: SG Americas Securities, LLC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet signed a long‑term energy supply deal (NiSource) to power a large Indiana data center — reduces power risk for hyperscale operations and supports cloud/AI capacity growth. NiSource signs long-term power deal with Alphabet, expands Amazon agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum: Google announced personalized image generation tied to Gemini and new features (Nano Banana) — tangible AI product rollouts that support user engagement and future monetization paths. Google will let users connect their photos to the Gemini chatbot and Nano Banana
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships (e.g., Thoma Bravo) and analyst/upside coverage highlight enterprise AI/Cyber expansion — supports longer‑term revenue diversification beyond ads. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish analyst and retail pieces reiterate Alphabet as a top long‑term growth/AI pick — helpful for sentiment but largely opinion‑driven. Why Alphabet (GOOGL) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Price forecasts from ML models and ranking lists (Finbold, Motley Fool) are circulating — they draw attention but are speculative and not a primary driver of fundamentals. Machine learning algorithm predicts Google stock price on April 30, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: The EU’s Digital Markets Act proposals would force Google to share detailed search/ranking/click data with rivals — a material regulatory risk that could weaken search defensibility and ad targeting advantages. Google should allow third-party search engines access to data, EU says
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is guiding toward higher AI capex for 2026 (data center, custom silicon, energy costs) — analysts warn this could compress margins and free cash flow in the near term. Alphabet Shares Rise 7% YTD: Buy, Sell, or Hold the GOOGL Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and antitrust pressures (Android/App distribution suits, advertiser arbitration) and some asset managers trimming positions add regulatory/legal downside and selling signals. Alphabet Faces Legal Pressures While Pursuing Enterprise AI Growth Potential

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. KeyCorp set a $370.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $346.03.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $339.40 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.50. The company has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.40 and a 52-week high of $350.15. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $9,877,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,818,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,605,814.08. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,068,744 shares of company stock worth $104,505,914 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.