Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Raises Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,524 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,187 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.3% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $45,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted blockbuster Q2 results, with revenue up 24% to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, while Google Cloud revenue jumped 82% year over year and YouTube ad revenue also remained strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Management and analysts said AI demand is still outpacing capacity, suggesting Alphabet’s spending is supporting long-term growth rather than just driving costs.
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms kept bullish ratings or raised targets, saying the pullback may be creating an attractive entry point despite near-term volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed a large stake in SpaceX, which some investors view as an additional valuable asset on the balance sheet.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, a modest capital-return move that is unlikely to be a major near-term driver given the stock’s much larger AI investment story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several funds and institutions disclosed portfolio changes in GOOG, with some adding shares and others trimming, reflecting mixed but ongoing institutional interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google also rolled out small product updates such as selfie-video sign-in and easier iPhone-to-Android switching, which are positive for engagement but not material stock catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried about Alphabet’s sharply higher capital spending guidance for 2026 and a first-ever quarterly negative free cash flow reading, raising concerns that AI investments may take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet ended its long-running quarterly buyback pattern, which removes a steady source of support for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: The company also faces fresh regulatory and legal pressure, including an about $1 billion EU antitrust fine and multiple securities-fraud investigations.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of declining Google search traffic from AI overviews and concerns about publisher partnerships add another overhang to the core search business.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $379.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $318.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $362.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $337.51. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 57.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

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.