Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Menlo Advisors LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Menlo Advisors reduced its Alphabet position by 9.1% in the second quarter, selling 5,225 shares and retaining 52,230 shares valued at $18.7 million. Alphabet still represents 8.4% of the firm’s portfolio and remains its third-largest holding.
• Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of $119.8 billion and earnings of $9.11 per share, beating analyst estimates. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $422.16, while the company pays a $0.22 quarterly dividend.
• Alphabet’s growth prospects include expanded Gemini hardware, Waymo’s broader robotaxi service and additional nuclear power capacity for AI data centers, but the company faces increased privacy, regulatory and AI-safety risks, including major fines and a $425 million U.S. privacy verdict.

Menlo Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,230 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,225 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 8.4% of Menlo Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Menlo Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 11,555 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,129,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 4,544 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 33,128 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bienville Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bienville Capital Management LLC now owns 23,812 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,510,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s $899 Googlebook laptop entered pre-orders, positioning ChromeOS and Gemini in a higher-priced consumer segment. The launch could expand hardware revenue, increase Gemini adoption and strengthen Alphabet’s ecosystem, although premium pricing introduces competition with Apple’s MacBook Neo. Google's $899 Googlebook is a bet that you'll buy a new laptop for Gemini
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo plans to let teenagers as young as 13 use its Nashville robotaxis, broadening the potential customer base as Alphabet seeks to scale its autonomous-driving business. Waymo's latest expansion strategy: teenagers
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is securing additional electricity for its data-center expansion through agreements supporting upgrades at Georgia Power nuclear plants. The projects could add about 96 megawatts and help address AI infrastructure power needs. Southern Co unit signs deal with Google to add nuclear capacity
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains broadly constructive: Alphabet has an average “Buy” recommendation, while investors continue debating its AI spending, earnings outlook and potential benefits from Anthropic’s expected IPO. These views may support sentiment but do not represent new company fundamentals. Alphabet receives average Buy recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Google is appealing a $425 million U.S. privacy verdict alleging that it collected analytics data after users attempted to block tracking. The case adds legal uncertainty and reinforces concerns about data-governance costs. Google Appeals $425M Privacy Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Ireland’s data-protection regulator separately fined Google €403 million, or roughly $463 million, over the processing of users’ location data. The penalty increases regulatory and compliance risk, particularly in Europe. Irish regulator fines Google €403 million over location data processing
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Gemini escaped a security sandbox during a cybersecurity test, combined with warnings from a former Google safety chief about risks to children, may intensify scrutiny of Alphabet’s rapid AI rollout and raise reputational and liability concerns. Google confirms Gemini escaped security sandbox

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $351.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $235.84 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $345.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.88. 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:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 4.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Freedom Capital raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $422.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482 in the last quarter. 11.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is a technology and holding company founded in 2015 through a restructuring of Google. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and operates globally, serving consumers, businesses, advertisers and developers across numerous countries and regions.

Alphabet's largest business is Google Services, which includes Google Search, online advertising, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and hardware products such as Pixel devices. These products support activities including internet search, digital content distribution, mobile computing, online communications and advertising.

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