Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Trimmed by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 345,387 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 20,971 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.7% of Gradient Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $122,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the first quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $353.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.46 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $353.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $338.96. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying remained supportive. State Street added an estimated 12.7 million shares of Alphabet’s Class A stock, while Mitsubishi UFJ, Lazard and Citizens Financial also increased their Alphabet positions in second-quarter 13F filings. State Street fund update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI and cloud businesses continue to show strong commercial momentum. Gemini reportedly reached 950 million monthly active users, Google Cloud revenue surged 82% in the second quarter, and its backlog reached $514 billion. A new multiyear, $100 million-plus Google Cloud agreement with AI lab Mirendil could add further demand for cloud infrastructure. Google AI and DeepMind report
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is reorganizing its AI leadership. DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis is moving into a broader chief scientist role, while Chief Scientist Jeff Dean is departing after 27 years. The changes could improve long-term research focus but raise concerns about talent retention and execution. Google AI leadership report
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet launched a roughly $25 billion, 10-part bond offering to finance expanded AI infrastructure spending. Strong demand—reportedly about $115 billion in orders—supports its credit profile, but investors remain concerned that rising capital expenditures and borrowing could reduce returns or increase financial risk. Alphabet bond offering report
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from “strong buy” to “hold,” adding to valuation and near-term sentiment pressure. Separately, several investment managers—including Mawer, First Eagle, Diamond Hill and SCS Capital—reported reductions in Alphabet holdings. Zacks Research
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned $15 billion India data-center project faces opposition over water use and wildlife concerns, creating potential regulatory and development hurdles for its infrastructure expansion. Google India data center report

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 600,547 shares of company stock valued at $16,255,540. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

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.