Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors reduced its Alphabet position by 2.4% in the second quarter, selling 4,353 shares while retaining 174,480 shares worth approximately $61.6 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s largest holding, representing 7.9% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, well above analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $415.55.
• AI expansion and Google Cloud growth support the bullish outlook, but investors remain concerned about heavy AI-related capital spending, regulatory remedies, higher Treasury yields and insider selling. Alphabet also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,480 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,353 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 7.9% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $61,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.7% during the second quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 38,398 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,567,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 41.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,705 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,616,000 after acquiring an additional 10,422 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 24,130 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,526,000 after acquiring an additional 3,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mission Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $1,186,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI expansion remains the main bullish catalyst. WeatherNext 3 is being integrated into Search, Maps and Gemini, while new voice-driven Gemini features are rolling out in Gmail, Docs and Keep, creating potential for broader user engagement and monetization. Alphabet Just Gave Search, Maps and Gemini a New AI Advantage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is building around Google Cloud, AI services, hardware and long-term earnings growth. Wolfe Research named Alphabet a top pick for 2027, while other coverage highlights strong recent Cloud growth and a median price target well above current trading levels. Alphabet Stock Opinions on Strong Cloud Growth Prospects
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge declined to force a breakup of Google’s ad-technology business, reducing the most severe regulatory risk, although operational restrictions remain. The decision also supports Alphabet’s ability to retain its existing ad-tech infrastructure. Google Spared From Ad-Business Breakup
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s clean-energy partnerships, including Google-backed battery storage and geothermal projects, strengthen power availability for data centers but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Google’s New Energy Project Gives Eos Energy a Key Technology Validation
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Alphabet’s roughly $44.9 billion quarterly capital expenditure pushed free cash flow negative for the first time since its IPO. The spending may support future AI and Cloud returns, but it increases execution risk and weighs on near-term valuation. 3 Stocks Built for Higher Rates
• Negative Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected employment data lifted Treasury yields and reduced expectations for near-term rate cuts, pressuring large technology stocks. Alphabet also faces investor concern over delayed Gemini releases, ongoing ad-tech remedies, and shareholder securities-fraud investigations. Securities Fraud Investigation Into Alphabet

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $335.31 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.38 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $346.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.71.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $460.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $415.55.

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.

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