Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Steamboat Capital Partners LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Steamboat Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 18.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,976 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 14,024 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 4.6% of Steamboat Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $45,352,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $130,704,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.55.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google completed its acquisition of AI-agent startup Mechanize in a deal reportedly valued at more than $1.5 billion. Mechanize’s former CEO and other employees have joined Google, strengthening Alphabet’s capabilities in autonomous AI agents. Google completes its deal for AI startup Mechanize
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is broadening Gemini’s commercial reach. Google Cloud launched Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services in preview, with Deutsche Bank as an early proving ground, while a new Accenture partnership will train up to 1,000 engineers to implement Gemini applications for enterprise customers. Google Cloud launches AI agents for banking
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s AI tools are gaining traction in media and creative software. Avid Technology said it is working with Google to accelerate creative workflows, while Gemini is increasingly being positioned as a competitor to Adobe’s tools. Google helps Avid accelerate the creative process with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned €13 billion Finland AI infrastructure investment, supported by a long-term nuclear power agreement, could provide more predictable energy costs for data centers and strengthen Google Cloud and TPU capacity. Analysts also see TPU sales as a potential source of additional Cloud growth. Alphabet’s TPU sales could drive Google Cloud upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet faces a continuing securities-fraud investigation by the Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz. The announcement is an investor solicitation and does not establish wrongdoing, but it could add headline and litigation risk. Securities fraud investigation into Alphabet continues
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Alphabet’s roughly $200 billion AI capital-spending plans, potential electricity and data-center costs, and competition from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta. A proposed U.S. bill could also require large data-center operators such as Alphabet to absorb more power-infrastructure costs.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $335.45 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $236.68 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $344.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.64. The company has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.22 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 4.42%.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is a technology holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was established in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring intended to separate Google’s core internet businesses from a collection of other ventures. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business and serves users, advertisers, businesses and developers worldwide.

Google’s principal products and services include its internet search engine, online advertising platforms, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play and Google Photos.