Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Holdings Lowered by Vulcan Value Partners LLC

Vulcan Value Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 539,472 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 137,084 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 5.8% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $190,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $330,886,000 after acquiring an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

GOOG stock opened at $335.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $236.68 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $344.76 and its 200 day moving average is $341.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google completed its acquisition of AI-agent startup Mechanize in a deal reportedly valued at more than $1.5 billion. Mechanize’s former CEO and other employees have joined Google, strengthening Alphabet’s capabilities in autonomous AI agents. Google completes its deal for AI startup Mechanize
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is broadening Gemini’s commercial reach. Google Cloud launched Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services in preview, with Deutsche Bank as an early proving ground, while a new Accenture partnership will train up to 1,000 engineers to implement Gemini applications for enterprise customers. Google Cloud launches AI agents for banking
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s AI tools are gaining traction in media and creative software. Avid Technology said it is working with Google to accelerate creative workflows, while Gemini is increasingly being positioned as a competitor to Adobe’s tools. Google helps Avid accelerate the creative process with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned €13 billion Finland AI infrastructure investment, supported by a long-term nuclear power agreement, could provide more predictable energy costs for data centers and strengthen Google Cloud and TPU capacity. Analysts also see TPU sales as a potential source of additional Cloud growth. Alphabet’s TPU sales could drive Google Cloud upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet faces a continuing securities-fraud investigation by the Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz. The announcement is an investor solicitation and does not establish wrongdoing, but it could add headline and litigation risk. Securities fraud investigation into Alphabet continues
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Alphabet’s roughly $200 billion AI capital-spending plans, potential electricity and data-center costs, and competition from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta. A proposed U.S. bill could also require large data-center operators such as Alphabet to absorb more power-infrastructure costs.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google’s core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.