Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Lessened by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Posted by Stanley Muller on Sep 5th, 2026

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG – Free Report) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,249 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,299 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.5% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $46,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 60,768 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898 shares during the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 14.3% during the second quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Montanova Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $1,201,000. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,905 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 10.8% in the second quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 72,668 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,676,000 after acquiring an additional 7,109 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI expansion remains the main bullish catalyst. WeatherNext 3 is being integrated into Search, Maps and Gemini, while new voice-driven Gemini features are rolling out in Gmail, Docs and Keep, creating potential for broader user engagement and monetization. Alphabet Just Gave Search, Maps and Gemini a New AI Advantage
Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is building around Google Cloud, AI services, hardware and long-term earnings growth. Wolfe Research named Alphabet a top pick for 2027, while other coverage highlights strong recent Cloud growth and a median price target well above current trading levels. Alphabet Stock Opinions on Strong Cloud Growth Prospects
Positive Sentiment: A federal judge declined to force a breakup of Google’s ad-technology business, reducing the most severe regulatory risk, although operational restrictions remain. The decision also supports Alphabet’s ability to retain its existing ad-tech infrastructure. Google Spared From Ad-Business Breakup
Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s clean-energy partnerships, including Google-backed battery storage and geothermal projects, strengthen power availability for data centers but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Google’s New Energy Project Gives Eos Energy a Key Technology Validation
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Alphabet’s roughly $44.9 billion quarterly capital expenditure pushed free cash flow negative for the first time since its IPO. The spending may support future AI and Cloud returns, but it increases execution risk and weighs on near-term valuation. 3 Stocks Built for Higher Rates
Negative Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected employment data lifted Treasury yields and reduced expectations for near-term rate cuts, pressuring large technology stocks. Alphabet also faces investor concern over delayed Gemini releases, ongoing ad-tech remedies, and shareholder securities-fraud investigations. Securities Fraud Investigation Into Alphabet

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC set a $515.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wedbush began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Get Our Latest Research Report on GOOG

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $335.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $346.96 and a 200-day moving average of $340.71. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.38 and a 12 month high of $404.47. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Alphabet’s quarterly 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 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 4.42%.

About Alphabet

(Free Report)

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.