Maven Securities LTD Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Maven Securities LTD cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 78.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,580 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 112,950 shares during the quarter. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 14.8% during the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 105,988 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,449,000 after buying an additional 13,700 shares in the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 298.2% in the second quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,229 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,854,000 after acquiring an additional 16,647 shares in the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $7,075,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $335.45 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $236.68 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $344.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $341.64.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid 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 yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.42%.

Key Headlines 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.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Pivotal Research increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $415.55.

Alphabet 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.