Nicholas Company Inc. Sells 30,540 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Nicholas Company reduced its Alphabet stake by 4.3%, selling 30,540 shares in the second quarter but retaining 687,505 shares worth approximately $242.9 million. Alphabet remains the firm’s largest holding, representing about 4.4% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and earnings of $9.11 per share, well above analyst expectations. Google Cloud growth and expanded AI infrastructure partnerships remain key potential growth drivers, though rising borrowing for AI spending adds risk.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $415.55, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $341.70. Alphabet also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% annual yield.

Nicholas Company Inc. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 687,505 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 30,540 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 4.4% of Nicholas Company Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $242,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,865,304 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $330,886,000 after acquiring an additional 806,681 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $658,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,310 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI chip partnership expands: Marvell issued Alphabet a warrant to purchase up to 58.97 million shares, potentially representing roughly 6.7% of Marvell and valued at approximately $12.2 billion at the exercise price. The agreement deepens cooperation on custom chips supporting Google’s TPU ecosystem, strengthening Alphabet’s control over AI infrastructure and supply. Marvell Google AI chip deal
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo reaches a key commercialization milestone: Alphabet’s autonomous-vehicle unit opened its cheaper, next-generation robotaxi to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. Lower production and operating costs could improve Waymo’s path toward broader scale and eventual profitability. Waymo next-generation robotaxi expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud momentum remains a major support: Google Cloud revenue reportedly rose 82% year over year to $24.8 billion in the latest quarter, outpacing Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. The acceleration provides tangible evidence that AI demand is translating into revenue growth. Google Cloud growth comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional endorsement: Berkshire Hathaway increased its Alphabet position by 45% during the second quarter, making it one of Berkshire’s largest holdings. The move may reinforce the view that Alphabet’s advertising, cloud, and AI businesses are undervalued relative to their growth prospects. Berkshire Alphabet investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Google introduced new AI-powered study tools across Search and Gemini, including interactive visuals, simulations, practice quizzes, and a student hub. The launches support product engagement and AI monetization, although near-term financial impact is unclear. Google AI study tools
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is increasing leverage: Alphabet raised A$5.5 billion, or about $3.9 billion, in its first Australian-dollar bond sale as it funds an aggressive AI infrastructure buildout. Additional borrowing preserves cash flexibility but increases interest obligations and highlights investor concerns about whether AI returns will justify capital spending. Alphabet Australian bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Gemini timing remains uncertain: Prediction-market traders see limited odds of Google releasing its delayed flagship Gemini Pro model before September, raising concerns about product execution and competitive pressure in generative AI. Gemini Pro release delay
• Negative Sentiment: A bankruptcy-court hearing on Google’s proposed $10 million purchase of Spirit Airlines’ internal business data was delayed until September 9 after a flight-attendants’ union objected over confidential information. The financial impact is small, but the dispute creates legal and reputational risk around AI training data. Spirit Airlines data sale court delay

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $341.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $351.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.46 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 $116.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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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