The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 249,017 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,981,612 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 249,017 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 0.7% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $855,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of GOOG opened at $332.60 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.70 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $358.25 and a 200 day moving average of $337.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 payout ratio is 4.42%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 285,049 shares of company stock worth $10,051,351 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.09.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals are supporting the rebound. Alphabet’s latest quarter featured 24.2% revenue growth, an EPS beat, and an 82% year-over-year increase in Google Cloud revenue. Analysts and investors argue that AI adoption, Search resilience, YouTube growth, and improving cloud profitability can eventually justify the company’s large infrastructure investments. Alphabet: Buy The Capex-Caused Decline
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional backing remains constructive. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy,” while KeyCorp modestly raised its FY2028 EPS estimate. Asset Management One also added approximately 117,000 GOOGL shares, signaling continued institutional confidence despite recent volatility. Alphabet upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube expanded its monetization ecosystem. A multiyear agreement will bring Peacock content, including sports and entertainment programming, to YouTube Premium subscribers in the United States, potentially strengthening engagement and subscription value. YouTube and Peacock deal
• Neutral Sentiment: AI remains both the growth engine and the central debate. More than 1,100 technology employees urged governments to establish stronger AI-safety rules. The issue could increase compliance costs, but coordinated regulation may also benefit large, well-funded platforms such as Google over smaller competitors. AI safety plan
• Negative Sentiment: Capital-spending concerns continue to cap enthusiasm. Alphabet’s roughly $195 billion–$205 billion 2026 capex forecast has pushed free cash flow negative and raised questions about returns on AI infrastructure. Investors are looking for evidence that Cloud growth and AI monetization will outpace the spending burden.
• Negative Sentiment: European legal risks are escalating. Following a $1 billion Digital Markets Act fine, rivals could pursue as much as $10 billion in private damages claims, creating potential financial and operational pressure on Google’s European business. Google European damages claims

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.