Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stake Reduced by Vulcan Value Partners LLC

Key Points

• Vulcan Value Partners reduced its Alphabet stake by 20.3% in the second quarter, selling 137,084 shares and retaining 539,472 shares valued at approximately $190.6 million. Alphabet remains 5.8% of Vulcan’s portfolio and its ninth-largest holding.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Alphabet receiving an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $415.55. Recent targets range from $379 to $450.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, including $119.8 billion in revenue—up 24.2% year over year—and $9.11 in adjusted earnings per share, well above expectations. Investors remain focused on the company’s AI expansion and roughly $200 billion in planned AI capital spending, alongside rising infrastructure costs and competition.

Vulcan Value Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 20.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 539,472 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 137,084 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 5.8% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Vulcan Value Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $190,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 105,988 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,449,000 after buying an additional 13,700 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $86,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 298.2% in the second quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,229 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,854,000 after acquiring an additional 16,647 shares in the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $106,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,075,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOG. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wedbush started coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $445.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $379.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research 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 company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $415.55.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

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.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of Alphabet 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $335.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $236.68 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $341.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued 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 4.42%.

Alphabet Profile

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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