Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,119,936 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,219 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $395,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 203,471 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $71,892,000 after purchasing an additional 15,612 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% during the second quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 27,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,591,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 12.6% during the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 5,198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Aufman Associates Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38.5% during the second quarter. Aufman Associates Inc now owns 9,822 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.7% during the second quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 44,002 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,504 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 451,843 shares of company stock valued at $12,343,852 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI products are broadening Alphabet’s growth story. Google is expanding AI Mode with flight-price tracking, hotel-booking assistance and loyalty-point comparisons, while Gemini’s new “Personal Intelligence” features are making AI assistance more accessible to mainstream users. A potential Gemini 3.8 Flash release and the hiring of former OpenAI executive Barret Zoph further reinforce Alphabet’s competitive AI position. Google AI Mode article
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud momentum and AI infrastructure remain key bullish catalysts. Analysts point to surging Google Cloud revenue, AI adoption and a reported $514 billion backlog as evidence that Alphabet is gaining ground on Microsoft and Amazon. Wolfe Research named Alphabet a top 2027 pick and set a $460 target, citing accelerating cloud growth. Alphabet’s expanded custom-chip relationship with Marvell could also strengthen its TPU ecosystem and reduce reliance on outside suppliers over time. Google Cloud growth article
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical and valuation commentary is broadly supportive but not a new fundamental catalyst. Analysts continue to view GOOG favorably, and technical analysis identifies support near a key moving-average level. However, the stock remains below its 50-day average, suggesting investors are still weighing growth against execution risks. Alphabet technical analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and litigation overhangs persist. Google changed its European spam-policy enforcement to avoid a potential antitrust fine, a concession that may reduce near-term financial risk but could constrain search operations. Alphabet also agreed to a roughly $353 million UK Play Store settlement, while the FTC is reportedly considering a lawsuit over YouTube account suspensions. Multiple law firms separately announced securities-fraud investigations, though these notices do not establish wrongdoing. Google EU spam policy article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain alert to the cost of the AI race. Reports that major technology companies have approximately $3 trillion in off-balance-sheet AI commitments, alongside Alphabet’s heavy capital spending and negative free cash flow concerns, could pressure future returns if AI monetization lags investment. Big Tech AI spending article

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $342.88 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $347.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.96 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 4.42%.

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.