Verus Capital Partners LLC Has $7.84 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Verus Capital Partners reduced its Alphabet position by 25.9% in the first quarter, selling 9,565 shares and retaining 27,349 shares valued at approximately $7.84 million.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 24.2% year over year to $119.8 billion and EPS significantly exceeding estimates. AI investments, Google Cloud growth, and enterprise partnerships are supporting investor optimism.
• Heavy AI spending remains a key risk: Alphabet raised its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $195 billion–$205 billion, pressuring free cash flow and potentially margins. Despite these concerns, analysts maintain a broadly positive “Buy” consensus with an average price target of $410.09.

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 25.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,349 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,565 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud growth are supporting the stock. Investors are responding to evidence that Alphabet’s large AI investments can drive revenue and profits. Google Cloud continues to be a key valuation driver, while the company’s custom AI chips are increasingly viewed as credible alternatives to Nvidia’s products. Alphabet and Amazon custom AI chips
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and bullish positioning remain supportive. Alphabet recently reported quarterly revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24.2% year over year, and exceeded consensus EPS expectations. Analysts remain broadly positive, while investors purchased approximately 275,667 call options Friday—about 33% above average daily call volume.
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI partnerships could expand Google Cloud demand. Alphabet’s Gemini models are being integrated into Oracle’s enterprise software, and the company is reportedly backing financing for an Anthropic data center. These developments could generate additional demand for Alphabet’s cloud infrastructure and AI services.
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital spending remains the central investment debate. Alphabet raised its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $195 billion–$205 billion. The spending is intended to capture AI demand, but investors are watching whether future revenue growth will justify the scale of the investment.
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is weighing on cash flow. A sharp increase in infrastructure investment reportedly pushed free cash flow negative in the latest quarter, while rising memory and data-center costs could increase future depreciation and pressure margins. AI buildout costs
• Negative Sentiment: Google withdrew its Earth AI feature after misinformation concerns. The one-day-old feature allowed fabricated AI images inside Google Earth, and its cancellation highlights reputational and product-governance risks. Google Earth AI feature cancellation

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $356.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $355.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.91. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.70 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.23. 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 issued its quarterly 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. The company 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities set a $393.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 target price (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $410.09.

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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