Gradient Investments LLC Sells 20,971 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,387 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 20,971 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.7% of Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $122,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying remained supportive. State Street added an estimated 12.7 million shares of Alphabet’s Class A stock, while Mitsubishi UFJ, Lazard and Citizens Financial also increased their Alphabet positions in second-quarter 13F filings. State Street fund update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI and cloud businesses continue to show strong commercial momentum. Gemini reportedly reached 950 million monthly active users, Google Cloud revenue surged 82% in the second quarter, and its backlog reached $514 billion. A new multiyear, $100 million-plus Google Cloud agreement with AI lab Mirendil could add further demand for cloud infrastructure. Google AI and DeepMind report
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is reorganizing its AI leadership. DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis is moving into a broader chief scientist role, while Chief Scientist Jeff Dean is departing after 27 years. The changes could improve long-term research focus but raise concerns about talent retention and execution. Google AI leadership report
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet launched a roughly $25 billion, 10-part bond offering to finance expanded AI infrastructure spending. Strong demand—reportedly about $115 billion in orders—supports its credit profile, but investors remain concerned that rising capital expenditures and borrowing could reduce returns or increase financial risk. Alphabet bond offering report
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from “strong buy” to “hold,” adding to valuation and near-term sentiment pressure. Separately, several investment managers—including Mawer, First Eagle, Diamond Hill and SCS Capital—reported reductions in Alphabet holdings. Zacks Research
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned $15 billion India data-center project faces opposition over water use and wildlife concerns, creating potential regulatory and development hurdles for its infrastructure expansion. Google India data center report

Alphabet Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $353.47 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.46 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. 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 $353.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.96.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet 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.