Aureus Asset Management LLC Has $13.70 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Aureus Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 41.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,774 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 33,332 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.9% of Aureus Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 275,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $86,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,060,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $106,936,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,006 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,788,000 after buying an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities set a $393.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $319.09 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.70 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $360.63 and its 200-day moving average is $337.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.42%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.