Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. reduced its Alphabet stake by 5.1% in the first quarter, selling 2,814 shares and ending with 52,480 shares valued at about $15.1 million. Alphabet remains its fifth-largest holding.
• Alphabet reported strong Q2 earnings, with EPS of $9.11 beating estimates by a wide margin and revenue of $119.8 billion topping expectations. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on GOOGL, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of about $419.86. However, investors are still watching concerns around heavy AI-related capital spending and recent regulatory pressure in Europe.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,480 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,814 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.5% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Members Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 6,434 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOGL. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $393.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Finally, New Street Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.86.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $319.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $362.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.74. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.82 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Q2 results showed strong underlying demand, including an 82% surge in Google Cloud revenue and continued growth in Search and YouTube, reinforcing that its core businesses are still expanding. Google Cloud CEO Kurian says customers are spending 50% more as segment blows away expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Barclays argued that a TPU-as-a-service offering could materially lift Alphabet’s long-term profitability, suggesting the market may be underestimating future AI monetization. TPU-As-A-Service could boost Google’s 2028 profit by over 15%: Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a more than $1 billion dark-fiber deal to support Google’s data centers, underscoring ongoing infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s AI and cloud expansion. Verizon signs deal with Google worth over $1 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet was included in a momentum screen highlighting stocks with strong earnings and favorable price trends, which is supportive but not a major stock-specific catalyst. 3 High-Momentum Stocks to Buy Now Before They Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this does not appear to be a major driver of the move.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried that Alphabet’s AI spending is becoming too large, with the company increasing 2026 capex guidance and reporting negative free cash flow for the first time in years. Alphabet earnings takeaways: Q2 revenue beats, GOOGL stock sinks on 2026 capex hike
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet also faced fresh regulatory pressure after the European Commission fined Google about $1 billion under the Digital Markets Act. Google hit with $1 billion EU fine, first under landmark rules
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo reportedly may try to end its partnership with Uber, which could create uncertainty around one of Alphabet’s autonomous-driving distribution channels. Waymo reportedly mulling a breakup with Uber

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report).

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.