Saudi Central Bank Boosts Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Saudi Central Bank increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 80.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 323,561 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 143,940 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.5% of Saudi Central Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $114,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total value of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% 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 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GOOG. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.1%

GOOG opened at $328.38 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $236.58 and a 52 week high of $404.47. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $345.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $341.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 4.42%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet announced at least €13 billion (about $15.1 billion) for AI data centers and digital infrastructure in Finland during 2027–2028. The investment will support Gemini, Search, Maps and YouTube, while a 22-year agreement with Fortum for nuclear power could provide reliable, lower-carbon electricity for energy-intensive AI operations. Google to invest $15 billion AI infrastructure in Finland
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud and Accenture are creating a group of 1,000 engineers to help customers deploy AI agents. The initiative may accelerate enterprise adoption of Google’s cloud, AI software and custom chips, strengthening the growth outlook for the Cloud segment. Accenture and Google are teaming up to send 1,000 engineers into the field
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and other commentary pointed to resilient web traffic despite rising AI competition, offering reassurance that Google’s core search business has not yet been materially displaced. Bank of America Spots Reassuring Signal for Google Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Anthropic joined a Canadian data-center development pledge. The agreement supports broader AI infrastructure expansion, although it does not immediately change Alphabet’s earnings outlook. HIVE joins Google, Microsoft and Amazon in new Canada data center pledge
• Negative Sentiment: The Finland commitment reinforces concerns that surging AI capital expenditures could pressure free cash flow before revenue and profits fully scale. Investors are increasingly focused on whether Alphabet can earn attractive returns on its massive infrastructure buildout. Alphabet’s ROIC Is Strong, but Is GOOGL Stock a Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet warned that changes to European search results required by the Digital Markets Act could reduce search quality and increase costs for businesses, creating potential pressure on user engagement, monetization and regulatory expenses. Google warns of lower quality as it revamps Europe search results
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s launch of its paid Muse AI agent heightened fears that autonomous assistants could bypass traditional search pages and weaken Alphabet’s search advertising model. Separately, delays affecting Alphabet and Blackstone’s Project Braid data-center venture underscore execution risks in the AI expansion. Meta rises as Muse AI agent arrives

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google’s core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.