London Co. of Virginia Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• London Co. of Virginia cut its Alphabet position by 7.2% in the first quarter, selling 58,123 shares and retaining 747,417 shares valued at approximately $214.4 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and EPS of $9.11, surpassing estimates. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $410.09.
• Several major institutional investors increased their Alphabet holdings, while insiders sold 159,415 shares worth $7.7 million over the past three months. Alphabet also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

London Co. of Virginia lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 747,417 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 58,123 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia's holdings in Alphabet were worth $214,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $31,569,189,000 after buying an additional 1,073,151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet reported a strong second quarter, with revenue up 24% year over year to $119.8 billion and earnings of $9.11 per share, well above estimates. Google Cloud growth, reported at approximately 82%, and continued strength in Search and YouTube reinforced the company’s AI monetization story. Alphabet Stock Is Gaining Monday: What's Going On?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and portfolio managers largely continue to support Alphabet’s long-term outlook. Bullish arguments point to enterprise AI adoption, a roughly $514 billion Cloud backlog, improving Cloud margins and early evidence that AI features can strengthen Search and other services. Berkshire Hathaway’s substantial Alphabet position also provides a notable vote of confidence. Alphabet Q2 Strength Reinforces the Bullish Case
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube reached a multiyear agreement with NBCUniversal to include Peacock content for U.S. YouTube Premium subscribers beginning in 2027. The deal could improve subscription value, engagement and YouTube’s competitive position in streaming. NBCUniversal and YouTube Ink Peacock Deal

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total transaction of $39,343.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.3%

GOOG stock opened at $326.57 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.70 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $359.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.61. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 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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