Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Makes New Investment in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought 1,313,878 Alphabet shares worth approximately $464.2 million in the second quarter, making GOOG its 15th-largest holding and about 0.9% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish: Alphabet has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $415.55, with recent targets ranging from $420 to $475.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, including $9.11 in EPS and $119.8 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 24.2% year over year. However, insiders have sold shares recently, including two executives who reduced their holdings.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,313,878 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $464,233,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.9% of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $445.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $420.00 price target (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their price target on Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.55.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s major investment: Berkshire increased its Alphabet position by 83%, adding roughly 48 million shares worth about $17 billion. Warren Buffett said he initiated the investment, providing a high-profile endorsement of Alphabet’s valuation, search resilience and rapidly growing Google Cloud business. Berkshire Hathaway Boosted Its Alphabet Stake 83%
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud expansion: Analysts and investors continue to highlight Alphabet’s strong AI position, including Gemini adoption, custom TPU potential and Google Cloud growth. Alphabet is also reportedly hosting Anthropic workloads, linking the company to demand for frontier AI infrastructure. Alphabet External TPU Sales Are A Likely Game Changer
• Positive Sentiment: Spirit Airlines data acquisition: Google won a $10 million bankruptcy auction for anonymized Spirit Airlines business records and software to support product development and AI training. The deal is small financially but illustrates Alphabet’s efforts to secure specialized datasets, with customer personal information reportedly excluded. Google to buy Spirit Airlines business data for $10 million
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio signals are divided: Several major funds, including David Tepper and other prominent managers, reported Alphabet purchases, but Bill Ackman, Viking Global and Altarock Partners also reduced or exited positions. Because 13F filings are backward-looking, they may influence sentiment without signaling current trading decisions. Hedge Funds Are Divided on MSFT and GOOGL
• Negative Sentiment: Investor-law-firm investigation: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds headline and litigation risk. Pomerantz Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Higher AI spending and debt: Alphabet is increasing bond issuance to fund data centers and AI infrastructure. The investment may support long-term growth, but heavier borrowing, supply commitments and concerns about an eventual AI-capex slowdown could pressure near-term sentiment. AI’s Half-Trillion-Dollar Borrowing Binge
• Negative Sentiment: China manufacturing exit: Google plans to complete its China manufacturing withdrawal by 2027, shifting Pixel production to Vietnam and India. The move may reduce geopolitical exposure but could create transition costs and supply-chain uncertainty. Alphabet Stock Dips as Google Plans China Manufacturing Exit

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $341.28 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.46 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $351.27 and a 200 day moving average of $339.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued 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 is presently 4.42%.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc NASDAQ: GOOG is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as "Other Bets." Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company's history.

Alphabet's core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company's ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.

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