Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Stake Cut by Compass Capital Management Inc.

Compass Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,203 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 26,267 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.8% of Compass Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Compass Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $63,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.7%

GOOGL stock opened at $346.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $206.20 and a one year high of $408.61. The company's 50 day moving average price is $349.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $341.74.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 451,843 shares of company stock valued at $12,343,852 over the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud and AI remain the main growth drivers. Rising Cloud revenue, AI adoption and a reported $514 billion backlog strengthen Alphabet’s competitive position against Microsoft and Amazon, although capacity constraints could limit near-term execution. Rising Cloud Revenue Strengthens Alphabet Against MSFT & AMZN
• Positive Sentiment: New Gemini and AI Mode features could increase user engagement and monetization. Google is expanding AI Mode to track flight prices and assist with hotel bookings, while reviews of its personal-intelligence tools suggest broader consumer adoption. Employees are also reportedly testing a next-generation Gemini Flash model. Google's AI Mode can now track flight prices, help book hotels, and more
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and technical momentum remain favorable. Brokerages maintain an average “Buy” recommendation, while technical commentary points to support above approximately $340. Alphabet’s valuation, margins and cash generation are viewed as attractive relative to many AI peers. Alphabet Receives Average Recommendation of Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s custom-chip strategy is creating demand for AI infrastructure. Marvell’s large Google-related AI-chip opportunity highlights Alphabet’s willingness to invest in proprietary computing capacity, potentially supporting long-term performance and reducing reliance on outside suppliers. Marvell’s Google AI-chip opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Google changed its European spam and site-reputation policy. The adjustment is intended to address European Commission concerns and reduce the risk of an antitrust fine, but it may affect how Google ranks publisher content and reflects ongoing regulatory pressure. Google changes spam policy in EU to avert antitrust fine
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risks continue to weigh on the investment case. Multiple law firms announced securities-fraud investigations, while Google agreed to a $353 million settlement with UK app developers. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing but could create financial and reputational costs. Google agrees to settle UK app developers’ lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC is reportedly considering action involving YouTube. The investigation concerns account suspensions and possible consumer-protection violations, adding another regulatory overhang for Alphabet. US FTC probes YouTube over social media policies

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $420.19.

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.

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.

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