Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Sapient Capital LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 629,076 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.9% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $224,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $277,696,000 after acquiring an additional 93,293 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $28,902,000. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 118,966 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,236,000 after purchasing an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 66.1% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 22,877 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,161,000 after purchasing an additional 9,105 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 451,945 shares of company stock worth $12,382,714. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $345.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.60 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $341.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $419.86.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway sharply 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% in the second quarter. Alphabet is now Berkshire’s third-largest U.S.-listed equity holding, a high-profile vote of confidence under CEO Greg Abel. Berkshire Hathaway boosts Alphabet to a top three holding
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s SpaceX investment has become exceptionally valuable. The company disclosed that its roughly $900 million investment in SpaceX in 2015 was worth about $94 billion at the end of June. The gain highlights Alphabet’s ability to generate returns from strategic investments, although it is not recurring operating revenue. Alphabet’s SpaceX bet grows 100-fold over a decade
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Gemini 3.7 Flash for coding and automated business workflows. The new model could strengthen Alphabet’s position in enterprise AI and agent-based software, although investors are still awaiting details on the flagship Gemini Pro release. Google unveils Gemini 3.7 Flash AI model
• Neutral Sentiment: Google will let users remove visible watermarks from AI-generated images, videos and songs while retaining invisible SynthID and C2PA metadata. The policy may improve user flexibility but could raise questions about content provenance and misuse. Google will now allow users to remove visible watermark from its AI generations
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment and competitive pressures remain overhangs. Reports cite rising AI capital expenditures and cash-flow pressure, while Nvidia’s large financing arrangement could challenge Alphabet’s custom-chip strategy. Traders also reduced expectations for an imminent Gemini Pro launch. Alphabet’s stock slips as Nvidia financing deal threatens custom chips
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from “strong buy” to “hold,” reflecting valuation and spending concerns. In addition, Pomerantz announced an investigation into potential investor claims, creating a modest legal-risk overhang. GOOGL Down 19% From 52-Week High

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.