R Squared Ltd Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd. cut its Alphabet position by 65.8% in the second quarter, selling 3,485 shares and retaining 1,812 shares valued at approximately $640,000.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 27.26% of Alphabet, although recent 13F filings show mixed buying and selling activity. Alphabet insiders also sold 451,945 shares worth about $12.4 million over the last quarter.
• Alphabet reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $119.8 billion in revenue and $9.11 in earnings per share. Analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus with an average price target of $415.55, while the company continues investing heavily in AI and cloud infrastructure.

R Squared Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,812 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,485 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% during 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 stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock worth $12,382,714. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Key Alphabet News

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. HSBC set a $515.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG stock 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. 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%.

Alphabet Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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