Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 19,384 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 610,192 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 19,384 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.6% of Madison Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $215,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,551,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,830,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google introduced flexible billing and resource-allocation tools for Gemini Enterprise and Google Antigravity, helping businesses manage unpredictable AI spending. The initiative could reduce a key barrier to enterprise AI adoption and support Google Cloud demand. Google Launches Flexible Billing To Manage Exploding AI Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet expanded Gemini Enterprise with specialized solutions for financial-services and legal customers, including industry-specific agents, data connectors and workflow tools. The launches strengthen Google Cloud’s effort to monetize agentic AI and compete with Microsoft and Anthropic. Google Cloud Launches Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo plans to test autonomous vehicles in Munich and launch driverless rides in Germany in 2027. The expansion provides a long-term growth catalyst for Alphabet’s autonomous-driving investment, although commercialization remains years away. Waymo to launch driverless rides in Germany in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly increased its Alphabet position by 83% to roughly $37.8 billion, making it one of Berkshire’s largest holdings. The high-profile purchase reinforces investor confidence in Alphabet’s search, cloud and AI businesses. Berkshire Hathaway increases Alphabet stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon are reportedly negotiating with China’s Moonshot AI to host its Kimi K3 model, with Moonshot seeking as much as 30% of related revenue. Hosting could create cloud revenue, but the proposed revenue share and U.S.-China technology restrictions may limit the benefit. China’s Moonshot in talks over K3 revenue sharing
• Negative Sentiment: A child-safety settlement involving Meta has renewed scrutiny of how YouTube protects minors. Investors are concerned that similar requirements could expose Alphabet to substantial compliance costs or financial liabilities.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader weakness in the Nasdaq-100 and major technology stocks added selling pressure, with Alphabet identified as a significant contributor to the index’s decline. Rising server prices for systems using Nvidia AI chips could also increase Alphabet’s already heavy infrastructure spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s decision to move its AI-responsibility team outside DeepMind has prompted concerns about researcher independence and the company’s ability to identify risks in increasingly capable models. Calls for tighter U.S.-China AI rules add another layer of regulatory uncertainty.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Alphabet from $460.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wedbush began coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $445.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $415.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $339.10 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $348.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $339.85. The company has a market cap of $4.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. 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 quarterly 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 company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm's revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 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 $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

About Alphabet

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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