Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Whetstone Capital Advisors reduced its Alphabet stake by 2.5%, selling 3,000 shares in the second quarter and retaining 115,630 shares valued at approximately $40.9 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s third-largest holding, representing 10.8% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and earnings per share of $9.11, well above analyst expectations.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with Alphabet holding a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $415.55, though investors continue to monitor substantial AI spending, infrastructure costs and competition.

Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,630 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 10.8% of Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $40,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google completed its acquisition of AI-agent startup Mechanize in a deal reportedly valued at more than $1.5 billion. Mechanize’s former CEO and other employees have joined Google, strengthening Alphabet’s capabilities in autonomous AI agents. Google completes its deal for AI startup Mechanize
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is broadening Gemini’s commercial reach. Google Cloud launched Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services in preview, with Deutsche Bank as an early proving ground, while a new Accenture partnership will train up to 1,000 engineers to implement Gemini applications for enterprise customers. Google Cloud launches AI agents for banking
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s AI tools are gaining traction in media and creative software. Avid Technology said it is working with Google to accelerate creative workflows, while Gemini is increasingly being positioned as a competitor to Adobe’s tools. Google helps Avid accelerate the creative process with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned €13 billion Finland AI infrastructure investment, supported by a long-term nuclear power agreement, could provide more predictable energy costs for data centers and strengthen Google Cloud and TPU capacity. Analysts also see TPU sales as a potential source of additional Cloud growth. Alphabet’s TPU sales could drive Google Cloud upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet faces a continuing securities-fraud investigation by the Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz. The announcement is an investor solicitation and does not establish wrongdoing, but it could add headline and litigation risk. Securities fraud investigation into Alphabet continues
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Alphabet’s roughly $200 billion AI capital-spending plans, potential electricity and data-center costs, and competition from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta. A proposed U.S. bill could also require large data-center operators such as Alphabet to absorb more power-infrastructure costs.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $415.55.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $335.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.64. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $236.68 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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%.The business's revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 4.42%.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google's core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet's largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google's principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.

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