Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 67.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,515 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 28,107 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $395.00 price target (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total transaction of $27,337.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,305,738.46. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540 in 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 is expanding its AI capabilities. Google DeepMind introduced Gemini Robotics 2, designed to control the full bodies of humanoid robots, while Google said internal AI tools helped it fix more Chrome security bugs in June than during the previous two years. These developments highlight potential long-term opportunities beyond search and advertising. Gemini Robotics 2
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. Erste Group raised its FY2026 earnings forecast to $20.50 per share from $14.27, above the roughly $20.15 consensus. Separate reports also cited upgrades and price targets materially above recent trading levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is committing further capital to AI infrastructure. Banks are reportedly discussing up to $15 billion in financing for an Anthropic data center backed by Google, potentially strengthening Google Cloud’s strategic position. However, guarantees for power and lease obligations could increase Alphabet’s financial commitments. Anthropic data center financing
• Negative Sentiment: AI Overviews may be disrupting Google’s referral ecosystem. Reddit’s CEO said AI Overviews have not generated value comparable to the traditional “10 blue links,” while Reddit is receiving less referral traffic. This raises questions about publisher relationships, content supply and the potential effect of AI search on Google’s broader web ecosystem. Reddit CEO comments on AI Overviews
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s stronger market reaction underscored investor concerns. Microsoft’s Azure and Copilot results reinforced its AI leadership, highlighting the competitive challenge to Google Cloud. At the same time, Alphabet insiders and several funds reported share sales, adding to cautious sentiment after the earnings-related pullback.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of GOOG opened at $333.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.70 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.78.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio 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.