Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Sells 4,391 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,365 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,391 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 5.2% of Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,248,000. Bank OZK grew its position in Alphabet by 65.9% in the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 2,741 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $582,165,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 30,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,773,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 45.5% during the second quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 14th. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Freedom Capital raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $415.55.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google completed its acquisition of AI-agent startup Mechanize in a deal reportedly valued at more than $1.5 billion. Mechanize’s former CEO and other employees have joined Google, strengthening Alphabet’s capabilities in autonomous AI agents. Google completes its deal for AI startup Mechanize
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is broadening Gemini’s commercial reach. Google Cloud launched Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services in preview, with Deutsche Bank as an early proving ground, while a new Accenture partnership will train up to 1,000 engineers to implement Gemini applications for enterprise customers. Google Cloud launches AI agents for banking
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s AI tools are gaining traction in media and creative software. Avid Technology said it is working with Google to accelerate creative workflows, while Gemini is increasingly being positioned as a competitor to Adobe’s tools. Google helps Avid accelerate the creative process with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned €13 billion Finland AI infrastructure investment, supported by a long-term nuclear power agreement, could provide more predictable energy costs for data centers and strengthen Google Cloud and TPU capacity. Analysts also see TPU sales as a potential source of additional Cloud growth. Alphabet’s TPU sales could drive Google Cloud upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet faces a continuing securities-fraud investigation by the Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz. The announcement is an investor solicitation and does not establish wrongdoing, but it could add headline and litigation risk. Securities fraud investigation into Alphabet continues
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Alphabet’s roughly $200 billion AI capital-spending plans, potential electricity and data-center costs, and competition from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta. A proposed U.S. bill could also require large data-center operators such as Alphabet to absorb more power-infrastructure costs.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

GOOG opened at $335.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $344.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $236.68 and a 12-month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google’s core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.