Quartz Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Quartz Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,946 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,572 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.6% of Quartz Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.0% during the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the first quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the first quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the first quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evansbrook LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Arete Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $342.48 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $226.11 and a one year high of $408.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $349.00 and a 200 day moving average of $342.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected the U.S. government’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange and other ad-tech assets. Although Alphabet must change certain business practices, avoiding a breakup preserves the company’s advertising infrastructure and revenue potential. Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway increased its Alphabet stake, with CEO Greg Abel describing Google as a significant AI player. The investment is a high-profile endorsement of Alphabet’s long-term competitive position in AI. Berkshire CEO Abel says Alphabet a significant player in AI
• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced conversational AI voice features for Gmail, Docs and Keep, expanding Gemini’s integration into widely used Workspace products. A new weather-forecasting model and planned AI image tools also highlight continued product development and potential monetization opportunities. Google launches AI voice features in Gmail, Docs and Keep
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its buy rating and set a $410 price target. Alphabet will also pay a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share to eligible shareholders, adding to its shareholder-return appeal. Google to pay dividends this month
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to purchase approximately 396 megawatts of geothermal power from Fervo Energy for a Utah data center, with an expansion option. The deal supports reliable power for AI infrastructure but also underscores the scale and cost of Alphabet’s data-center buildout.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh antitrust-related behavioral remedies, a securities-fraud investigation, insider selling reports and concerns that the promised Gemini 3.5 Pro flagship model remains delayed. These issues could limit sentiment despite the favorable breakup ruling. Securities fraud investigation into 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.