Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Royal London Asset Management reduced its Alphabet position by 1.4%, selling 28,270 shares and retaining 2,007,007 shares valued at approximately $709.1 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and earnings per share significantly exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $415.55.
• A federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange, reducing breakup risk, but Alphabet must still make operational changes to address antitrust concerns.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,007,007 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 28,270 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.3% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $709,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,094,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the first quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% during the first quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.55.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $333.78 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $347.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.52. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.12 and a 1 year 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. 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.

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