Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 347,472 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 98,570 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $122,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after acquiring an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Alphabet by 850.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $333.78 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $225.12 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $340.52. The company has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange. The ruling removes the most severe breakup risk, although Google must make operational changes to address antitrust concerns. This was the clearest immediate catalyst for Alphabet’s strength. Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched or prepared to launch Gemini 3.8 Flash, a model designed to improve coding and cybersecurity capabilities. Investors view the release as evidence that Alphabet is narrowing the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI. Google launches Gemini 3.8 Flash
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports continue to highlight strong AI demand, cloud revenue growth and expanding infrastructure investment. Alphabet’s latest reported quarter showed 24.2% year-over-year revenue growth and a substantial earnings beat, supporting the view that Cloud and AI can offset pressure on the core advertising business. Alphabet reports strong growth fueled by AI demand and cloud revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel described Alphabet as a significant AI player and explained Berkshire’s decision to make it one of its largest holdings. The endorsement may strengthen investor confidence in Alphabet’s long-term AI strategy. Berkshire CEO discusses Alphabet stake
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to purchase roughly 396 megawatts of enhanced-geothermal power from Fervo Energy for a planned Utah data center, with potential expansion toward 1 gigawatt. The agreement supports reliable, lower-carbon electricity for AI infrastructure. Google buys geothermal power from Fervo
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo expanded paid robotaxi service to Denver, San Diego and Tampa, bringing operations to 14 U.S. cities. The move offers longer-term optionality but is unlikely to materially affect near-term Alphabet earnings. Waymo expands robotaxi service
• Negative Sentiment: The antitrust ruling still found illegal conduct and requires changes to Google’s digital advertising operations, leaving potential compliance costs and future regulatory risk. Judge orders changes to Google ad business
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and technical commentators warn that GOOG is approaching bear-market territory and testing important support near $323. Concerns about elevated AI capital spending, margin pressure and increasingly intense competition in search advertising could limit further gains.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $415.55.

About Alphabet

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.