Value Investment Professionals LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Value Investment Professionals LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,570 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,487 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.6% of Value Investment Professionals LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Value Investment Professionals LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crescent Sterling Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $412,000. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Alphabet by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 15,031 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,311,000 after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,444,000. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 12,989 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $460.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $375.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $355.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.48. The stock has a market cap of $4.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.47 and a 12-month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 600,547 shares of company stock valued at $16,255,540. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and cloud momentum remain the primary catalyst. Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24% year over year, while Google Cloud revenue reportedly surged 82% to $24.8 billion. Its $514 billion cloud backlog and broad Gemini Enterprise adoption support the view that AI spending is beginning to generate commercial returns. Alphabet: The $514 Billion Backlog Doesn’t Lie
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is gaining exposure to several AI growth markets. MediaTek is targeting 15%–20% of the estimated $80 billion custom AI-chip market in 2027, potentially creating an opportunity for Alphabet’s cloud infrastructure. Separately, SpaceX said new computing deals with Google and Anthropic contributed to sharply higher revenue, highlighting demand for Google’s AI-related capacity. MediaTek Wants 20% of Custom AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo is providing another long-term growth narrative. Alphabet’s self-driving subsidiary opened its Dallas robotaxi service to the public, while a separate analysis found Waymo vehicles crash substantially less often than human-driven vehicles. Wider availability and safety data could improve investor confidence in Waymo’s commercialization prospects. Waymo Opens Robotaxi Service in Dallas
• Neutral Sentiment: White House discussions may shape Alphabet’s AI regulatory environment. Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta representatives met with Trump administration advisers regarding voluntary safety testing and a proposed AI oversight framework. The outcome could affect development costs, product launches and competitive dynamics, but no immediate policy change was announced. AI Companies Meet With White House
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about the scale and payoff of AI investment. Alphabet is among several technology companies facing approximately $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease commitments, while a Google executive warned that heavy AI spending could create a temporary revenue gap. Comparable AI models from DeepSeek are also reportedly matching Gemini performance at far lower testing costs, raising pricing and margin concerns. AI Data-Center Lease Burden
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and governance headlines add pressure. Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but securities investigations can increase headline risk and investor uncertainty. Pomerantz Investor Alert

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.