Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Hollencrest Capital Management

Key Points

• Hollencrest Capital Management cut its Alphabet stake by 63.5% in the second quarter, selling 33,095 shares and retaining 18,988 shares valued at approximately $6.7 million.
• Other major institutional investors, including Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street, increased their Alphabet holdings; institutions and hedge funds collectively own 27.26% of the stock.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and adjusted EPS of $9.11, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating and a $415.55 price target.

Hollencrest Capital Management lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 63.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,988 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 33,095 shares during the quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $130,704,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $379.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush began coverage on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $445.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC set a $515.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange. The ruling removes the most severe breakup risk, although Google must make operational changes to address antitrust concerns. This was the clearest immediate catalyst for Alphabet’s strength. Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched or prepared to launch Gemini 3.8 Flash, a model designed to improve coding and cybersecurity capabilities. Investors view the release as evidence that Alphabet is narrowing the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI. Google launches Gemini 3.8 Flash
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports continue to highlight strong AI demand, cloud revenue growth and expanding infrastructure investment. Alphabet’s latest reported quarter showed 24.2% year-over-year revenue growth and a substantial earnings beat, supporting the view that Cloud and AI can offset pressure on the core advertising business. Alphabet reports strong growth fueled by AI demand and cloud revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel described Alphabet as a significant AI player and explained Berkshire’s decision to make it one of its largest holdings. The endorsement may strengthen investor confidence in Alphabet’s long-term AI strategy. Berkshire CEO discusses Alphabet stake
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to purchase roughly 396 megawatts of enhanced-geothermal power from Fervo Energy for a planned Utah data center, with potential expansion toward 1 gigawatt. The agreement supports reliable, lower-carbon electricity for AI infrastructure. Google buys geothermal power from Fervo
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo expanded paid robotaxi service to Denver, San Diego and Tampa, bringing operations to 14 U.S. cities. The move offers longer-term optionality but is unlikely to materially affect near-term Alphabet earnings. Waymo expands robotaxi service
• Negative Sentiment: The antitrust ruling still found illegal conduct and requires changes to Google’s digital advertising operations, leaving potential compliance costs and future regulatory risk. Judge orders changes to Google ad business
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and technical commentators warn that GOOG is approaching bear-market territory and testing important support near $323. Concerns about elevated AI capital spending, margin pressure and increasingly intense competition in search advertising could limit further gains.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

Alphabet stock opened at $333.78 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $225.12 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $347.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $340.52. 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 market capitalization of $4.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source