Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,316,252 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 88,396 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.8% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,585,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $330.39 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $236.58 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $345.18 and a 200 day moving average of $341.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet announced a partnership with Morgan State University to establish an AI campus, potentially expanding long-term talent development, research access and adoption of Google Cloud and Gemini. Alphabet Morgan State University AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched a dedicated Gemini app for Windows PCs, making its AI assistant more accessible and increasing the opportunity to drive usage across consumer devices and services. Gemini Windows app
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned €13 billion investment in Finnish AI infrastructure, alongside a long-term agreement to purchase power from a nuclear plant, could provide reliable, lower-cost electricity for data centers and support Gemini, Search, Maps and YouTube. Google Finland AI infrastructure investment
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investment commentary continue to highlight Alphabet’s cloud growth, more than 20% revenue growth and strong recent earnings as evidence that the company can fund substantial AI investment while maintaining attractive profitability. Alphabet return on invested capital and cloud growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was listed at zero shares, unchanged from the prior report, so the data provide no meaningful evidence of short-covering pressure or growing bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on the cost of Alphabet’s AI buildout. Estimates that AI capital expenditures could reach roughly $200 billion have raised concerns about pressure on free cash flow, even though the stock’s valuation is viewed as reasonable. Alphabet AI capital expenditures
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s new Muse AI agent has renewed concerns that autonomous assistants could bypass traditional search pages and reduce Google search advertising opportunities. ARK Invest’s decision to sell approximately $28 million of Alphabet and buy Meta added to the competitive sentiment. Meta Muse competition
• Negative Sentiment: Potential regulation could increase infrastructure costs: proposed U.S. legislation would require large data-center users to pay the full incremental cost of power-grid upgrades, while Finnish officials have warned that Google’s expansion could strain electricity supply. Data Center Fair Share Act

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,414,801.45. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. HSBC set a $515.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Friday, August 14th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.55.

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.