SurgoCap Partners LP Sells 522,790 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

SurgoCap Partners LP cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 35.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 966,080 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 522,790 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 11.0% of SurgoCap Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. SurgoCap Partners LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $341,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in 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 worth $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 850.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,551,938,000 after buying an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of Alphabet 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s outlook. Citizens analyst Andrew Boone expects the stock to reach a new all-time high over the next year, while recent GOOG targets have a median of $455, well above recent trading levels. Wall Street analyst sets Google price target
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s record cloud growth, Gemini development and expanding AI infrastructure continue to support the bullish case. Investors are debating whether the company’s large AI spending program will produce durable growth, but some analysts view the recent pullback as an opportunity. One Mag 7 stock to watch
• Positive Sentiment: Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an Indian IPO, potentially creating value for Alphabet’s investment and increasing visibility into one of its strategic holdings. Jio Platforms receives IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares for approximately $27,700, reducing her position by only 0.43%. The small transaction is unlikely to materially change Alphabet’s investment outlook, though broader insider activity has consisted entirely of sales during the past six months. Alphabet SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Meta’s AI-powered advertising products could challenge Google Search’s advertising dominance. OpenAI’s reported $1 billion advertising run rate adds to fears that competition for digital-ad budgets is intensifying. Bernstein warns on Meta competition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a major overhang. Google avoided a potential European penalty by changing search rules, while a £260 million U.K. app-store settlement adds another direct cost and highlights continuing scrutiny of its business practices. Google changes European search rules
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s aggressive AI capital expenditures are raising concerns about free-cash-flow pressure and future margins, particularly as investors compare its spending strategy with Amazon’s. Alphabet and Amazon AI capital spending
• Negative Sentiment: Google Maps’ decision to display “Lake America” for U.S. users has triggered backlash in Canada, creating reputational and political risk, although the immediate financial impact appears limited. Google Maps Lake America controversy

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOG. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Roth Capital increased their target price on Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.2%

Alphabet stock opened at $335.41 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $347.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $340.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.96 and a 12 month high of $404.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.