William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 27.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,191,012 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 686,407 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 3.4% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,140,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,534,239,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 855.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,546,413,000 after acquiring an additional 13,004,828 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Alphabet by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,910,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 28,950.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,291,926 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,671,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,259,940 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet
In other news, insider John Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.
Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. 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 the consensus estimate of $117.07 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.
Key Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue growth and expanding margins continue to support Alphabet’s AI investment strategy. Supporters argue that cloud growth—reportedly up 82% year over year—could eventually justify the company’s much higher spending. Google Cloud growth article
- Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected a forced breakup of Google’s ad-tech business, limiting the immediate structural risk to Alphabet. The company will instead face behavioral remedies, although the ad-network business recently contracted. Google ad-business ruling
- Positive Sentiment: New AI features in Gmail, Docs and Keep, along with continued Gemini development, could improve user engagement and strengthen Alphabet’s competitive position in generative AI. Rosenblatt also reaffirmed a buy rating with a $410 price target. Google AI product launch
- Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share on September 14 to shareholders of record on September 4, providing a modest income component but unlikely to materially change the investment case. Alphabet dividend article
- Negative Sentiment: Alphabet raised 2026 capital-spending guidance to approximately $195 billion–$205 billion. Second-quarter free cash flow turned negative as capital expenditures reached $44.9 billion, raising concerns that AI infrastructure spending may take years to generate adequate returns. Alphabet cloud margins and AI spending
- Negative Sentiment: Investors are also concerned about execution: Gemini 3.5 Pro reportedly remained delayed, while the company faces multiple securities-fraud investigations and continued scrutiny over its ad-tech practices. These issues add legal and competitive risk to an already expensive AI buildout. Gemini delay article
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Loop Capital upped their price target on Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Arete Research raised their price objective on Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $420.19.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Alphabet
Alphabet Company Profile
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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