Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Maverick Capital Ltd.

Maverick Capital Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 872,697 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 268,806 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.9% of Maverick Capital Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Maverick Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $250,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth 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 period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $332.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $358.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $337.68. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.70 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GOOG. 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. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $445.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $410.09.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals are supporting the rebound. Alphabet’s latest quarter featured 24.2% revenue growth, an EPS beat, and an 82% year-over-year increase in Google Cloud revenue. Analysts and investors argue that AI adoption, Search resilience, YouTube growth, and improving cloud profitability can eventually justify the company’s large infrastructure investments. Alphabet: Buy The Capex-Caused Decline
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional backing remains constructive. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy,” while KeyCorp modestly raised its FY2028 EPS estimate. Asset Management One also added approximately 117,000 GOOGL shares, signaling continued institutional confidence despite recent volatility. Alphabet upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube expanded its monetization ecosystem. A multiyear agreement will bring Peacock content, including sports and entertainment programming, to YouTube Premium subscribers in the United States, potentially strengthening engagement and subscription value. YouTube and Peacock deal
• Neutral Sentiment: AI remains both the growth engine and the central debate. More than 1,100 technology employees urged governments to establish stronger AI-safety rules. The issue could increase compliance costs, but coordinated regulation may also benefit large, well-funded platforms such as Google over smaller competitors. AI safety plan
• Negative Sentiment: Capital-spending concerns continue to cap enthusiasm. Alphabet’s roughly $195 billion–$205 billion 2026 capex forecast has pushed free cash flow negative and raised questions about returns on AI infrastructure. Investors are looking for evidence that Cloud growth and AI monetization will outpace the spending burden.
• Negative Sentiment: European legal risks are escalating. Following a $1 billion Digital Markets Act fine, rivals could pursue as much as $10 billion in private damages claims, creating potential financial and operational pressure on Google’s European business. Google European damages claims

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 285,049 shares of company stock valued at $10,051,351 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

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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