Hilltop Holdings Inc. Has $12.67 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Hilltop Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 23.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,158 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 13,415 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its position in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $319.09 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.70 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $360.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $337.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank reaffirmed 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Alphabet Company Profile

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.