Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 340,303 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,084 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.3% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $120,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $343.54 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $352.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.57. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.46 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC set a $515.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its Alphabet position. Berkshire owned approximately 106 million shares worth $37.9 billion at the end of June after raising its stake by 83% during the second quarter. Alphabet is now Berkshire’s third-largest U.S.-listed equity holding, a notable vote of confidence under CEO Greg Abel. Berkshire Hathaway boosts Alphabet to a top three holding
• Positive Sentiment: Digital advertising estimates improved. July advertiser spending exceeded consensus expectations, supporting the outlook for Alphabet’s core advertising business. Alphabet also launched Gemini 3.7 Flash for coding and automated business workflows, potentially expanding monetization opportunities in enterprise AI. Internet stock advertising estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s SpaceX investment has become a major unrealized asset. The company disclosed that its roughly $900 million investment in SpaceX is now worth about $94 billion, highlighting the value of Alphabet’s venture portfolio, although the gain does not directly represent operating revenue or cash flow. Alphabet’s SpaceX bet grows 100-fold
• Positive Sentiment: Other institutions also added exposure. UniSuper increased its GOOG and GOOGL holdings, while several major funds reported purchases, reinforcing the perception that Alphabet remains attractively valued after its recent pullback.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini access in schools and introduced tools allowing users to remove visible watermarks from AI-generated content while retaining invisible SynthID protections. These moves could improve adoption but have uncertain near-term financial effects. Google turns on Gemini AI for students
• Negative Sentiment: Gemini lost chatbot-visit share to ChatGPT in July. Although Gemini surpassed one billion monthly active users, its share of chatbot visits fell to 28.8%, raising concerns about competitive momentum in consumer AI.
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is pressuring cash flow. Analysts continue to flag Alphabet’s very high data-center and chip spending, with some estimates showing weaker free-cash-flow generation than Microsoft and Meta in 2027.
• Negative Sentiment: Several funds reduced Alphabet positions. Barclays, Franklin Resources, Magellan and other managers reported trimming GOOG or GOOGL holdings, partially offsetting Berkshire’s large purchase. Alphabet also faces reputational risk from a reported Google-ad phishing scam and a law-firm investigation of investor claims.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total value of $27,337.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,305,738.46. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714. 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.