Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Holdings Cut by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 213,484 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,364 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.9% of MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $75,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 3,410 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. First County Bank CT grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.1% during the second quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 3,937 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 69.9% in the second quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 62,559 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.8% in the second quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in 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: Strong earnings and AI spending outlook: Alphabet’s latest results showed revenue growth of 24.2% year over year and substantially exceeded analyst expectations. Reports highlighted Google Cloud revenue rising 82% to $24.8 billion, a 35.6% operating margin and a record $514 billion backlog, supporting the argument that AI infrastructure spending is translating into demand. Alphabet’s AI Spending Finally Makes Sense
• Positive Sentiment: Growing confidence in AI leadership: Google DeepMind commentary suggested the industry may be entering a new stage of AI development, while broader hyperscaler earnings renewed investor appetite for AI-related stocks, including Alphabet. Analysts and growth-stock commentary remain broadly constructive, with multiple buy or overweight ratings and a reported median price target above current trading levels. Google DeepMind Says the Next Stage of AI May Already Be Starting
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo provides an additional growth narrative: An analysis cited by media reports found Waymo robotaxis crashed 68% less often than human drivers. Improved safety could support the long-term commercial expansion and valuation of Alphabet’s autonomous-driving business. Waymo robotaxis found to crash 68% less often than human drivers
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support: Massachusetts Financial Services reportedly increased its Alphabet position by approximately 23%, adding more than five million shares. That purchase reinforced the perception that professional investors view Alphabet’s AI and cloud prospects favorably. Massachusetts Financial Services fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory discussions ahead: Google representatives are expected to meet with the White House, Anthropic and OpenAI to discuss a proposed AI oversight framework. The meeting could provide clarity but also highlights potential future compliance costs and restrictions. AI giants to meet with White House
• Negative Sentiment: Cloud competition remains a risk: Microsoft continues to lead Alphabet in cloud market share, potentially limiting Google Cloud’s ability to convert its strong backlog into sustained market-share gains. Microsoft Races Ahead of Google in the Cloud
• Negative Sentiment: AI product-control concerns: Google reportedly rolled back an AI feature in Google Earth after users generated fake satellite imagery, raising questions about product safeguards, reputational risk and the pace of AI deployment. For a Day, Google Made It Easy to Spoof Satellite Imagery

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total value of $27,337.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,305,738.46. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 600,547 shares of company stock valued at $16,255,540 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DZ Bank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $372.47 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.92 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $355.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.20.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Alphabet Company 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.