Apella Capital LLC Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Apella Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,770 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.6% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 42,263 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,401,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 7,955 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. boosted its position in Alphabet by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 6,103 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 35.1% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 147,958 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,415,000 after purchasing an additional 38,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 30.0% in the third quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,671 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GOOG. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price objective (up from $475.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $421.95.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Isomorphic Labs valuation could validate Alphabet’s AI portfolio. The Alphabet-backed drug-discovery startup is reportedly seeking funding at a valuation of at least $40 billion, potentially reaching $50 billion. A successful financing round could highlight the value of Alphabet’s AI assets beyond advertising and cloud services. Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs seeks valuation of at least $40 billion in new funding round
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo secured $5 billion in debt financing from Blackstone, PIMCO and Sixth Street to accelerate robotaxi expansion. The funding provides additional capital for Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit without requiring an immediate equity contribution from the parent company. Waymo locks in $5B loan from Blackstone, PIMCO to fuel robotaxi expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Google is broadening commercial applications for Gemini and cloud. Google Cloud is deploying Gemini models with Balyasny Asset Management, while an education partnership will provide Gemini Enterprise to more than 30,000 users. These deals offer evidence of enterprise demand and potential returns on Alphabet’s substantial AI infrastructure spending. Balyasny Asset Management Deploys Gemini Models for Agentic Financial Research
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term power agreements support AI data-center expansion. Alphabet’s nuclear and utility arrangements are designed to secure reliable electricity for data centers, reducing a key bottleneck for cloud and AI growth. Its Unity gaming partnership and new AI media-authentication tools also expand Alphabet’s product ecosystem. Google and Constellation Energy sign latest nuclear energy deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain overwhelmingly bullish. Reports cite unanimous positive coverage and price targets well above the current trading range, but some analysts warn that Alphabet’s premium valuation leaves little room for disappointing AI returns. Alphabet Price Prediction: 56 Analysts Bullish, Zero Sells
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation remains an overhang. Multiple law firms are promoting a securities class action alleging that Alphabet failed to disclose issues related to the anticipated Gemini 3.5 Pro launch and training performance. The allegations are unresolved, but they could increase legal costs and reputational risk. Alphabet Shareholder Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and capital-spending risks are rising. Google was ordered to pause work on two Finnish data centers pending environmental assessments, while commentary points to negative free cash flow and higher debt as AI spending accelerates. These issues could pressure margins if AI monetization fails to keep pace with infrastructure investment. Google ordered to halt work on two data centers in Finland

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 441,399 shares of company stock valued at $8,677,053. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $1.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $345.42. 6,641,937 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,389,168. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.19. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.43. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $236.68 and a 12 month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. Established in 2015 through a corporate restructuring, Alphabet oversees Google and a collection of businesses focused on technology, innovation and emerging industries. Sundar Pichai serves as Alphabet’s chief executive officer and also leads Google.

Google is Alphabet’s primary business and operates an internet ecosystem that includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.