Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Cooper Financial Group

Cooper Financial Group lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,885 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,676 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.8% of Cooper Financial Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its position in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,596,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $106,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $7,075,000. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $20,337,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GOOG. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total transaction of $27,337.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,305,738.46. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned 10-part bond offering of up to $25 billion was met with approximately $115 billion in investor orders, indicating strong confidence in the company’s credit quality and long-term AI strategy. The funds are intended to support data-center expansion and other infrastructure investments. Google’s AI Bond Sale Attracts $115 Billion of Orders
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud continues to benefit from strong AI demand, while AI lab Mirendil signed a multiyear, $100 million-plus agreement to obtain computing capacity from Google Cloud. Such contracts could help monetize Alphabet’s substantial AI infrastructure spending. Mirendil Inks $100M+ Google Cloud Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: The debt sale gives Alphabet additional flexibility to fund its roughly $205 billion AI infrastructure plan, but it also increases borrowing and raises questions about returns on capital. Strong demand for the bonds reduces near-term financing risk, although investors are likely to scrutinize spending discipline and future profitability. Alphabet Seeks Up to $25 Billion From Bond Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing renewed concerns about its ability to lead in frontier AI after chief scientist Jeff Dean departed to launch a startup with other researchers, while DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis moved away from day-to-day management into a broader chief scientist role. The departures heighten fears of a talent drain and potential disruption to Gemini and other AI initiatives. Google Shakes Up AI Leadership
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary suggests Google Cloud’s commercial growth is competing for scarce computing resources and management attention with DeepMind’s longer-term AI research, adding execution risk as Alphabet attempts to scale both businesses. Alphabet’s Cloud Growth Straining Its Frontier AI Push

Alphabet Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $356.62 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $195.22 and a one year high of $404.47. The company has a market cap of $4.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.23. 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 fifty day moving average of $354.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $338.85.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

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.