Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Reduced by HB Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management reduced its Alphabet position by 1.3% in the second quarter, selling 5,953 shares and retaining 449,314 shares valued at approximately $160.6 million. Alphabet represents 0.9% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the stock.
• Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of $119.8 billion and earnings of $9.11 per share, surpassing analyst estimates. The company is also expanding growth opportunities through AI chip sales and Waymo’s planned Singapore robotaxi launch, though heavy AI spending, higher rates and ad-tech restrictions remain risks.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $422.16. GOOGL recently traded at $349.54, up 0.6%, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

HB Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 449,314 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,953 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.9% of HB Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $160,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 6.0% during the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.5% in the first quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 5,460 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.9% in the first quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cadia Private Client LLC now owns 2,589 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evansbrook LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI chip sales add a new revenue stream: Alphabet began recognizing revenue from sales of its internally developed AI chip systems in the second quarter. Investors may view the business as both a potential growth driver and a way to monetize Google’s technology infrastructure. 2 Stocks to Buy as Google Starts Selling Its AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst raises price target: Tigress Financial Partners increased its price target for GOOGL to $485, reflecting confidence in Alphabet’s Search, Cloud, YouTube, Gemini and custom-chip opportunities. Alphabet Price Target Raised to $485
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo expands internationally: Alphabet’s autonomous-driving unit plans to launch an all-electric robotaxi service in Singapore by 2028, strengthening the long-term investment case for Alphabet’s “Other Bets” portfolio. Waymo to Bring Autonomous Ride-Hailing to Singapore
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity signals bullish positioning: Investors purchased roughly 520,000 Alphabet call options, above typical volume, indicating increased speculative interest in further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ad-tech ruling avoids a breakup but imposes restrictions: A federal judge ordered Google to share more auction data with publishers and appoint an antitrust monitor, but rejected a forced breakup. Avoiding structural separation limits the immediate risk to Alphabet’s advertising business, while the behavioral remedies could pressure operations and margins. Tech Watchdogs Criticize Google Adtech Ruling
• Negative Sentiment: Higher rates and AI spending remain risks: The Federal Reserve’s rate increase and Alphabet’s heavy investment in AI infrastructure could keep pressure on free cash flow and valuation, even as Cloud backlog and AI demand remain strong.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price objective (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $422.16.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $349.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $235.84 and a 1 year high of $408.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $345.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $344.91.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482. 11.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Alphabet

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.