SCS Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

SCS Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,844 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,076 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the second quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,221 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the second quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 11,617 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,152,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Prospect Hill Management LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the second quarter. Prospect Hill Management LLC now owns 28,020 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,014,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 2.0% during the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 92,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $32,945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $346.59 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $349.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.74. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.20 and a twelve 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Arete Research lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 target price (down from $435.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $420.19.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud and AI remain the main growth drivers. Rising Cloud revenue, AI adoption and a reported $514 billion backlog strengthen Alphabet’s competitive position against Microsoft and Amazon, although capacity constraints could limit near-term execution. Rising Cloud Revenue Strengthens Alphabet Against MSFT & AMZN
• Positive Sentiment: New Gemini and AI Mode features could increase user engagement and monetization. Google is expanding AI Mode to track flight prices and assist with hotel bookings, while reviews of its personal-intelligence tools suggest broader consumer adoption. Employees are also reportedly testing a next-generation Gemini Flash model. Google’s AI Mode can now track flight prices, help book hotels, and more
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and technical momentum remain favorable. Brokerages maintain an average “Buy” recommendation, while technical commentary points to support above approximately $340. Alphabet’s valuation, margins and cash generation are viewed as attractive relative to many AI peers. Alphabet Receives Average Recommendation of Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s custom-chip strategy is creating demand for AI infrastructure. Marvell’s large Google-related AI-chip opportunity highlights Alphabet’s willingness to invest in proprietary computing capacity, potentially supporting long-term performance and reducing reliance on outside suppliers. Marvell’s Google AI-chip opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Google changed its European spam and site-reputation policy. The adjustment is intended to address European Commission concerns and reduce the risk of an antitrust fine, but it may affect how Google ranks publisher content and reflects ongoing regulatory pressure. Google changes spam policy in EU to avert antitrust fine
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risks continue to weigh on the investment case. Multiple law firms announced securities-fraud investigations, while Google agreed to a $353 million settlement with UK app developers. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing but could create financial and reputational costs. Google agrees to settle UK app developers’ lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The FTC is reportedly considering action involving YouTube. The investigation concerns account suspensions and possible consumer-protection violations, adding another regulatory overhang for Alphabet. US FTC probes YouTube over social media policies

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.39, for a total transaction of $27,337.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,914 shares in the company, valued at $6,305,738.46. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 451,843 shares of company stock worth $12,343,852 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet 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.