Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Madison Asset Management LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 18.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 629,576 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 140,409 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.2% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $180,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after buying an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $319.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.38. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.70 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.