Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 418,449 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,754 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.8% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $147,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the first quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% in the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying remained supportive. State Street added an estimated 12.7 million shares of Alphabet’s Class A stock, while Mitsubishi UFJ, Lazard and Citizens Financial also increased their Alphabet positions in second-quarter 13F filings. State Street fund update
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI and cloud businesses continue to show strong commercial momentum. Gemini reportedly reached 950 million monthly active users, Google Cloud revenue surged 82% in the second quarter, and its backlog reached $514 billion. A new multiyear, $100 million-plus Google Cloud agreement with AI lab Mirendil could add further demand for cloud infrastructure. Google AI and DeepMind report
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is reorganizing its AI leadership. DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis is moving into a broader chief scientist role, while Chief Scientist Jeff Dean is departing after 27 years. The changes could improve long-term research focus but raise concerns about talent retention and execution. Google AI leadership report
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet launched a roughly $25 billion, 10-part bond offering to finance expanded AI infrastructure spending. Strong demand—reportedly about $115 billion in orders—supports its credit profile, but investors remain concerned that rising capital expenditures and borrowing could reduce returns or increase financial risk. Alphabet bond offering report
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from “strong buy” to “hold,” adding to valuation and near-term sentiment pressure. Separately, several investment managers—including Mawer, First Eagle, Diamond Hill and SCS Capital—reported reductions in Alphabet holdings. Zacks Research
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s planned $15 billion India data-center project faces opposition over water use and wildlife concerns, creating potential regulatory and development hurdles for its infrastructure expansion. Google India data center report

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $2,232,808.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 600,547 shares of company stock valued at $16,255,540 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.09.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $353.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $353.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $338.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 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 Inc. has a one year low of $197.46 and a one year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during 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%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.