HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 38,781 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,104,869 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 38,781 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.7% of HighTower Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $743,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management lifted its position 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 298.2% in the 2nd quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,229 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,854,000 after purchasing an additional 16,647 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $106,936,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $7,075,000. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 13.3% during the second quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,489 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,773,000 after buying an additional 3,575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI chip partnership expands: Marvell issued Alphabet a warrant to purchase up to 58.97 million shares, potentially representing roughly 6.7% of Marvell and valued at approximately $12.2 billion at the exercise price. The agreement deepens cooperation on custom chips supporting Google’s TPU ecosystem, strengthening Alphabet’s control over AI infrastructure and supply. Marvell Google AI chip deal
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo reaches a key commercialization milestone: Alphabet’s autonomous-vehicle unit opened its cheaper, next-generation robotaxi to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. Lower production and operating costs could improve Waymo’s path toward broader scale and eventual profitability. Waymo next-generation robotaxi expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud momentum remains a major support: Google Cloud revenue reportedly rose 82% year over year to $24.8 billion in the latest quarter, outpacing Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. The acceleration provides tangible evidence that AI demand is translating into revenue growth. Google Cloud growth comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional endorsement: Berkshire Hathaway increased its Alphabet position by 45% during the second quarter, making it one of Berkshire’s largest holdings. The move may reinforce the view that Alphabet’s advertising, cloud, and AI businesses are undervalued relative to their growth prospects. Berkshire Alphabet investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Google introduced new AI-powered study tools across Search and Gemini, including interactive visuals, simulations, practice quizzes, and a student hub. The launches support product engagement and AI monetization, although near-term financial impact is unclear. Google AI study tools
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is increasing leverage: Alphabet raised A$5.5 billion, or about $3.9 billion, in its first Australian-dollar bond sale as it funds an aggressive AI infrastructure buildout. Additional borrowing preserves cash flexibility but increases interest obligations and highlights investor concerns about whether AI returns will justify capital spending. Alphabet Australian bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Gemini timing remains uncertain: Prediction-market traders see limited odds of Google releasing its delayed flagship Gemini Pro model before September, raising concerns about product execution and competitive pressure in generative AI. Gemini Pro release delay
• Negative Sentiment: A bankruptcy-court hearing on Google’s proposed $10 million purchase of Spirit Airlines’ internal business data was delayed until September 9 after a flight-attendants’ union objected over confidential information. The financial impact is small, but the dispute creates legal and reputational risk around AI training data. Spirit Airlines data sale court delay

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Alphabet from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $460.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 18,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,305,738.46. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock valued at $12,382,714 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $341.70 on Thursday. 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 $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.72. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.46 and a twelve month high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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