Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 170.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,202,207 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 757,847 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $427,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th 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 and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $379.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were 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 directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $343.54 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.46 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $352.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $339.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its Alphabet position. Berkshire owned approximately 106 million shares worth $37.9 billion at the end of June after raising its stake by 83% during the second quarter. Alphabet is now Berkshire’s third-largest U.S.-listed equity holding, a notable vote of confidence under CEO Greg Abel. Berkshire Hathaway boosts Alphabet to a top three holding
• Positive Sentiment: Digital advertising estimates improved. July advertiser spending exceeded consensus expectations, supporting the outlook for Alphabet’s core advertising business. Alphabet also launched Gemini 3.7 Flash for coding and automated business workflows, potentially expanding monetization opportunities in enterprise AI. Internet stock advertising estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s SpaceX investment has become a major unrealized asset. The company disclosed that its roughly $900 million investment in SpaceX is now worth about $94 billion, highlighting the value of Alphabet’s venture portfolio, although the gain does not directly represent operating revenue or cash flow. Alphabet’s SpaceX bet grows 100-fold
• Positive Sentiment: Other institutions also added exposure. UniSuper increased its GOOG and GOOGL holdings, while several major funds reported purchases, reinforcing the perception that Alphabet remains attractively valued after its recent pullback.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini access in schools and introduced tools allowing users to remove visible watermarks from AI-generated content while retaining invisible SynthID protections. These moves could improve adoption but have uncertain near-term financial effects. Google turns on Gemini AI for students
• Negative Sentiment: Gemini lost chatbot-visit share to ChatGPT in July. Although Gemini surpassed one billion monthly active users, its share of chatbot visits fell to 28.8%, raising concerns about competitive momentum in consumer AI.
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is pressuring cash flow. Analysts continue to flag Alphabet’s very high data-center and chip spending, with some estimates showing weaker free-cash-flow generation than Microsoft and Meta in 2027.
• Negative Sentiment: Several funds reduced Alphabet positions. Barclays, Franklin Resources, Magellan and other managers reported trimming GOOG or GOOGL holdings, partially offsetting Berkshire’s large purchase. Alphabet also faces reputational risk from a reported Google-ad phishing scam and a law-firm investigation of investor claims.

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.