Anchor Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Anchor Investment Management reduced its Alphabet position by 14.4% in the second quarter, selling 10,681 shares and retaining 63,507 shares worth approximately $22.7 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Alphabet, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $422.16, despite some analysts recently lowering their targets.
• Alphabet’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with $9.11 in earnings per share versus a $2.89 estimate and revenue of $119.8 billion compared with $117.07 billion expected.

Anchor Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,507 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 10,681 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.6% of Anchor Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Anchor Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 180 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $411.00 target price on Alphabet and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $395.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $422.16.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $351.16 on Wednesday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $345.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $345.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $235.84 and a 1 year high of $408.61.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 450,875 shares of company stock worth $11,984,482. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

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 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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