Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 247,414 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,226 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 5.4% of Westpac Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $88,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38.5% during the second quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 180 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.2%

GOOGL opened at $338.46 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $349.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $342.61.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.42%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud revenue growth and expanding margins continue to support Alphabet’s AI investment strategy. Supporters argue that cloud growth—reportedly up 82% year over year—could eventually justify the company’s much higher spending. Google Cloud growth article
• Positive Sentiment: A federal judge rejected a forced breakup of Google’s ad-tech business, limiting the immediate structural risk to Alphabet. The company will instead face behavioral remedies, although the ad-network business recently contracted. Google ad-business ruling
• Positive Sentiment: New AI features in Gmail, Docs and Keep, along with continued Gemini development, could improve user engagement and strengthen Alphabet’s competitive position in generative AI. Rosenblatt also reaffirmed a buy rating with a $410 price target. Google AI product launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share on September 14 to shareholders of record on September 4, providing a modest income component but unlikely to materially change the investment case. Alphabet dividend article
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet raised 2026 capital-spending guidance to approximately $195 billion–$205 billion. Second-quarter free cash flow turned negative as capital expenditures reached $44.9 billion, raising concerns that AI infrastructure spending may take years to generate adequate returns. Alphabet cloud margins and AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also concerned about execution: Gemini 3.5 Pro reportedly remained delayed, while the company faces multiple securities-fraud investigations and continued scrutiny over its ad-tech practices. These issues add legal and competitive risk to an already expensive AI buildout. Gemini delay article

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,125,015.20. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $355.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price (up from $470.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $420.19.

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.