BNP Paribas Sells 22,129 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

BNP Paribas trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 367,558 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 22,129 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 3.5% of BNP Paribas’ portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $129,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,251,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,200,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Alphabet by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,209,454 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,080,616,000 after buying an additional 3,432,287 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,871,000. Finally, Kahn Brothers Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,720,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange. The ruling removes the most severe breakup risk, although Google must make operational changes to address antitrust concerns. This was the clearest immediate catalyst for Alphabet’s strength. Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched or prepared to launch Gemini 3.8 Flash, a model designed to improve coding and cybersecurity capabilities. Investors view the release as evidence that Alphabet is narrowing the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI. Google launches Gemini 3.8 Flash
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports continue to highlight strong AI demand, cloud revenue growth and expanding infrastructure investment. Alphabet’s latest reported quarter showed 24.2% year-over-year revenue growth and a substantial earnings beat, supporting the view that Cloud and AI can offset pressure on the core advertising business. Alphabet reports strong growth fueled by AI demand and cloud revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel described Alphabet as a significant AI player and explained Berkshire’s decision to make it one of its largest holdings. The endorsement may strengthen investor confidence in Alphabet’s long-term AI strategy. Berkshire CEO discusses Alphabet stake
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet agreed to purchase roughly 396 megawatts of enhanced-geothermal power from Fervo Energy for a planned Utah data center, with potential expansion toward 1 gigawatt. The agreement supports reliable, lower-carbon electricity for AI infrastructure. Google buys geothermal power from Fervo
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo expanded paid robotaxi service to Denver, San Diego and Tampa, bringing operations to 14 U.S. cities. The move offers longer-term optionality but is unlikely to materially affect near-term Alphabet earnings. Waymo expands robotaxi service
• Negative Sentiment: The antitrust ruling still found illegal conduct and requires changes to Google’s digital advertising operations, leaving potential compliance costs and future regulatory risk. Judge orders changes to Google ad business
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and technical commentators warn that GOOG is approaching bear-market territory and testing important support near $323. Concerns about elevated AI capital spending, margin pressure and increasingly intense competition in search advertising could limit further gains.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Alphabet from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $333.78 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $347.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.52. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $225.12 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 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.