Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 157,524 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.3% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $45,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Alphabet by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 190,654 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,827,000 after purchasing an additional 15,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Violich Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $106,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Five 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted blockbuster Q2 results, with revenue up 24% to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, while Google Cloud revenue jumped 82% year over year and YouTube ad revenue also remained strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Management and analysts said AI demand is still outpacing capacity, suggesting Alphabet’s spending is supporting long-term growth rather than just driving costs.
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms kept bullish ratings or raised targets, saying the pullback may be creating an attractive entry point despite near-term volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet disclosed a large stake in SpaceX, which some investors view as an additional valuable asset on the balance sheet.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, a modest capital-return move that is unlikely to be a major near-term driver given the stock’s much larger AI investment story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several funds and institutions disclosed portfolio changes in GOOG, with some adding shares and others trimming, reflecting mixed but ongoing institutional interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google also rolled out small product updates such as selfie-video sign-in and easier iPhone-to-Android switching, which are positive for engagement but not material stock catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried about Alphabet’s sharply higher capital spending guidance for 2026 and a first-ever quarterly negative free cash flow reading, raising concerns that AI investments may take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet ended its long-running quarterly buyback pattern, which removes a steady source of support for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: The company also faces fresh regulatory and legal pressure, including an about $1 billion EU antitrust fine and multiple securities-fraud investigations.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of declining Google search traffic from AI overviews and concerns about publisher partnerships add another overhang to the core search business.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $318.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.70 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $362.11 and its 200 day moving average is $337.51.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 57.20% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

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.