West Family Investments Inc. Acquires New Shares in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,361 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,000. Alphabet makes up 0.6% of West Family Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Bank OZK lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 2,741 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $582,165,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 30,490 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,773,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,523,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group raised its holdings in Alphabet by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group now owns 4,999 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, 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 transaction of $149,606.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 shares were 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $335.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $344.76 and its 200-day moving average is $341.64. 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 company has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $236.68 and a 12-month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.