Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Holdings Decreased by Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc

Key Points

• Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc. reduced its Alphabet stake by 6.6% in the second quarter, selling 4,822 shares and retaining 68,181 shares valued at approximately $24.5 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s third-largest holding and represents 5.2% of its portfolio.
• Other major institutions, including Vanguard, State Street and Geode Capital, increased their Alphabet positions, while institutional investors collectively own 40.03% of the stock. Insiders sold 451,925 shares worth $12.4 million over the past quarter.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $420.19. Alphabet also reported quarterly EPS of $9.11, well above the $2.89 consensus estimate, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,181 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,822 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 5.2% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $165,567,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531,695 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,954,269 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,524,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 146,193,037 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $45,625,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,534,239,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,108,183 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $21,630,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,852 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 over the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $420.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $338.46 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $408.61. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $349.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $342.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given 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 yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue growth and expanding margins continue to support Alphabet’s AI investment strategy. Supporters argue that cloud growth—reportedly up 82% year over year—could eventually justify the company’s much higher spending. Google Cloud growth article
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected a forced breakup of Google’s ad-tech business, limiting the immediate structural risk to Alphabet. The company will instead face behavioral remedies, although the ad-network business recently contracted. Google ad-business ruling
• Positive Sentiment: New AI features in Gmail, Docs and Keep, along with continued Gemini development, could improve user engagement and strengthen Alphabet’s competitive position in generative AI. Rosenblatt also reaffirmed a buy rating with a $410 price target. Google AI product launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share on September 14 to shareholders of record on September 4, providing a modest income component but unlikely to materially change the investment case. Alphabet dividend article
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet raised 2026 capital-spending guidance to approximately $195 billion–$205 billion. Second-quarter free cash flow turned negative as capital expenditures reached $44.9 billion, raising concerns that AI infrastructure spending may take years to generate adequate returns. Alphabet cloud margins and AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also concerned about execution: Gemini 3.5 Pro reportedly remained delayed, while the company faces multiple securities-fraud investigations and continued scrutiny over its ad-tech practices. These issues add legal and competitive risk to an already expensive AI buildout. Gemini delay article

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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