Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Position Cut by Giverny Capital Inc.

Key Points

• Giverny Capital cut its Alphabet position by 2.5% in the second quarter, selling 15,449 shares while retaining 605,460 shares worth approximately $213.9 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s largest holding, representing about 7.3% of its portfolio.
• Other major institutions largely increased their Alphabet stakes, including BlackRock and State Street, while hedge funds and institutional investors collectively own 27.26% of the stock. Alphabet insiders, however, sold 451,925 shares worth about $12.4 million over the past 90 days.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11 versus a $2.87 consensus estimate. Investors remain focused on the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending, potential pressure on free cash flow, competition from AI assistants, and regulatory costs.

Giverny Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 605,460 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,449 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 7.3% of Giverny Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Giverny Capital Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $213,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $45,352,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% in the second 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 period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet announced a partnership with Morgan State University to establish an AI campus, potentially expanding long-term talent development, research access and adoption of Google Cloud and Gemini. Alphabet Morgan State University AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched a dedicated Gemini app for Windows PCs, making its AI assistant more accessible and increasing the opportunity to drive usage across consumer devices and services. Gemini Windows app
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned €13 billion investment in Finnish AI infrastructure, alongside a long-term agreement to purchase power from a nuclear plant, could provide reliable, lower-cost electricity for data centers and support Gemini, Search, Maps and YouTube. Google Finland AI infrastructure investment
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investment commentary continue to highlight Alphabet’s cloud growth, more than 20% revenue growth and strong recent earnings as evidence that the company can fund substantial AI investment while maintaining attractive profitability. Alphabet return on invested capital and cloud growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was listed at zero shares, unchanged from the prior report, so the data provide no meaningful evidence of short-covering pressure or growing bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on the cost of Alphabet’s AI buildout. Estimates that AI capital expenditures could reach roughly $200 billion have raised concerns about pressure on free cash flow, even though the stock’s valuation is viewed as reasonable. Alphabet AI capital expenditures
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s new Muse AI agent has renewed concerns that autonomous assistants could bypass traditional search pages and reduce Google search advertising opportunities. ARK Invest’s decision to sell approximately $28 million of Alphabet and buy Meta added to the competitive sentiment. Meta Muse competition
• Negative Sentiment: Potential regulation could increase infrastructure costs: proposed U.S. legislation would require large data-center users to pay the full incremental cost of power-grid upgrades, while Finnish officials have warned that Google’s expansion could strain electricity supply. Data Center Fair Share Act

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.6%

Alphabet stock opened at $330.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $345.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.69. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $236.58 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOG. Zacks Research cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.55.

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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