West Branch Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

West Branch Capital LLC trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 89,356 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,593 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 7.4% of West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 451,945 shares of company stock worth $12,382,714. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $344.17 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $352.87 and its 200 day moving average is $341.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.60 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 22nd. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $379.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $419.86.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway sharply increased its Alphabet position. Berkshire disclosed an 83% second-quarter increase, adding approximately 48 million shares and bringing its holding to nearly 106 million shares valued at about $37 billion. Warren Buffett said he initiated the investment, reinforcing the view that Alphabet offers strong cash generation, attractive valuation and durable growth. Berkshire Just Made a Huge Alphabet Bet—Should You Follow?
• Positive Sentiment: Other prominent investors also reported Alphabet purchases. Filings indicated buying by investors including David Tepper, Stanley Druckenmiller and Seth Klarman, adding to the institutional endorsement of GOOGL’s AI, cloud and advertising outlook. Billionaires Loading Into Alphabet Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding its AI capabilities. Google agreed to pay $10 million for anonymized Spirit Airlines business data and software for product development and AI training, while some employees from workflow-automation startup Relay are joining Google’s Chrome team. These moves support continued investment in AI products, though the direct financial impact is likely limited. Google to Buy Spirit Airlines Business Data
• Neutral Sentiment: AI spending is creating both opportunity and financing pressure. Alphabet was among several companies issuing large volumes of AI-related debt, potentially funding cloud and data-center expansion but increasing interest costs and balance-sheet risk. Reports that Alphabet is considering an Australian-dollar bond could reinforce that concern. AI’s Borrowing Binge
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The release provided few details, and an investigation does not establish wrongdoing, but the announcement could create short-term legal and reputational pressure. Pomerantz Investor Alert

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.