Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Sells 94,063 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 26.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 255,671 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 94,063 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.5% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $73,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $277,696,000 after acquiring an additional 93,293 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 89,299 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,902,000. Private Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Finally, W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 118,966 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,236,000 after purchasing an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $3,832,277.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 600,465 shares of company stock valued at $16,228,202. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $336.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.24. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.82 and a 52 week high of $408.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $359.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $339.14.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $6.22. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.42%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s latest quarter continued to support the long-term growth case: revenue rose 24% to $119.8 billion, Google Cloud growth accelerated to 82%, cloud operating income more than tripled, and its backlog reached $514 billion. Search revenue also grew 17%, easing concerns that AI tools are undermining the core advertising business. Alphabet quarter and valuation analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm is being supported by Alphabet’s potential to commercialize its internally developed AI chips, with initial external revenue reportedly expected by year-end. Analysts and value investors remain constructive; KeyCorp maintains an “Overweight” rating and a $445 target, while Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to “strong buy.” Alphabet AI silicon opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Google is expanding its Play Signal age-assurance technology worldwide by the end of 2026, potentially strengthening Android’s safety tools and developer ecosystem. Waymo also began restoring freeway service, a sign of progress after earlier operational restrictions. Google age-assurance technology
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimates were mixed: KeyCorp raised its full-year 2026 EPS forecast substantially but trimmed quarterly and 2027 estimates slightly, while Erste Group lifted its 2027 forecast. This indicates strong near-term expectations but uncertainty about longer-term spending and profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure remains Alphabet’s planned $195 billion–$205 billion of 2026 capital spending. Quarterly capital expenditures reached $44.9 billion and free cash flow turned negative, prompting investors to question whether AI infrastructure returns will justify the investment. Alphabet AI spending concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Additional risks include renewed fears that lower-cost AI models could pressure technology valuations, potential European private damages claims following Google’s $1 billion fine, and reports of a DeepMind research-team restructuring. Recent insider and major-shareholder sales are also a modest sentiment headwind, although they do not necessarily signal deteriorating fundamentals. Google European damages risk

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. China Renaissance lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Alphabet from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC restated 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. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $419.86.

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.