Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,007,007 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 28,270 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.3% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $709,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $333.78 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $225.12 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $347.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.52. The company has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange. The ruling removes the most severe breakup risk, although Google must make operational changes to address antitrust concerns. This was the clearest immediate catalyst for Alphabet’s strength. Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched or prepared to launch Gemini 3.8 Flash, a model designed to improve coding and cybersecurity capabilities. Investors view the release as evidence that Alphabet is narrowing the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI. Google launches Gemini 3.8 Flash
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports continue to highlight strong AI demand, cloud revenue growth and expanding infrastructure investment. Alphabet’s latest reported quarter showed 24.2% year-over-year revenue growth and a substantial earnings beat, supporting the view that Cloud and AI can offset pressure on the core advertising business. Alphabet reports strong growth fueled by AI demand and cloud revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel described Alphabet as a significant AI player and explained Berkshire’s decision to make it one of its largest holdings. The endorsement may strengthen investor confidence in Alphabet’s long-term AI strategy. Berkshire CEO discusses Alphabet stake
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to purchase roughly 396 megawatts of enhanced-geothermal power from Fervo Energy for a planned Utah data center, with potential expansion toward 1 gigawatt. The agreement supports reliable, lower-carbon electricity for AI infrastructure. Google buys geothermal power from Fervo
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo expanded paid robotaxi service to Denver, San Diego and Tampa, bringing operations to 14 U.S. cities. The move offers longer-term optionality but is unlikely to materially affect near-term Alphabet earnings. Waymo expands robotaxi service
• Negative Sentiment: The antitrust ruling still found illegal conduct and requires changes to Google’s digital advertising operations, leaving potential compliance costs and future regulatory risk. Judge orders changes to Google ad business
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and technical commentators warn that GOOG is approaching bear-market territory and testing important support near $323. Concerns about elevated AI capital spending, margin pressure and increasingly intense competition in search advertising could limit further gains.

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.