SFE Investment Counsel lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,607 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,993 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.1% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore lifted their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $420.19.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Alphabet
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its Alphabet position. Berkshire’s second-quarter filing reportedly showed an 83% increase in its stake to approximately $37.8 billion, making Alphabet one of its largest holdings. The purchase may reinforce investor confidence in Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation and AI growth prospects. Berkshire Boosts Its Bet: This AI Hyperscaler Is Now a Top-3 Holding
- Positive Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini Enterprise into legal and financial services. New specialized AI agents and tools could help Google Cloud monetize Gemini, compete with Anthropic and OpenAI, and deepen relationships with high-value enterprise customers. Google expands Gemini AI platform for law firms, lawyers
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet-owned Waymo is expanding internationally. Waymo plans to test autonomous vehicles in Munich and launch commercial driverless rides in Germany in 2027, its first European market. The move supports the long-term growth case for Alphabet’s autonomous-driving investments, although near-term financial benefits are likely limited. Waymo to begin testing autonomous vehicles in Munich
- Positive Sentiment: Google’s in-house TPU strategy is attracting attention. Reports that TPU volume could potentially triple by 2027 suggest growing demand for Google’s AI infrastructure and could improve cloud economics while reducing reliance on Nvidia hardware. Google TPU Volume Could Triple to 8.8 Million by 2027
- Neutral Sentiment: Google reportedly plans to move Pixel manufacturing out of China by 2027. Shifting production to Vietnam and India could diversify supply chains, but relocation costs and execution risks make the immediate earnings impact uncertain. Google plans to move all Pixel manufacturing out of China by 2027
- Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The notice provides few details, but securities-law investigations can create headline risk, potential legal expenses and uncertainty for shareholders. Investor Alert: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Alphabet
- Negative Sentiment: Possible delays to a new Gemini Pro release may be weighing on AI sentiment. Reports that a flagship Gemini update may not arrive before late September could raise concerns about Google’s pace of innovation as competition from Anthropic and OpenAI intensifies. Gemini Pro delay leaves Google with an empty flagship tier
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of GOOGL opened at $346.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $341.51. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.65 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.24.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
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 paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.42%.
About Alphabet
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.
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