Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Sells 2,409 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 53.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,118 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,409 shares during the quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 600,547 shares of company stock valued at $16,255,540 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities set a $393.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.09.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding its AI capabilities. Google DeepMind introduced Gemini Robotics 2, designed to control the full bodies of humanoid robots, while Google said internal AI tools helped it fix more Chrome security bugs in June than during the previous two years. These developments highlight potential long-term opportunities beyond search and advertising. Gemini Robotics 2
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. Erste Group raised its FY2026 earnings forecast to $20.50 per share from $14.27, above the roughly $20.15 consensus. Separate reports also cited upgrades and price targets materially above recent trading levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is committing further capital to AI infrastructure. Banks are reportedly discussing up to $15 billion in financing for an Anthropic data center backed by Google, potentially strengthening Google Cloud’s strategic position. However, guarantees for power and lease obligations could increase Alphabet’s financial commitments. Anthropic data center financing
• Negative Sentiment: AI Overviews may be disrupting Google’s referral ecosystem. Reddit’s CEO said AI Overviews have not generated value comparable to the traditional “10 blue links,” while Reddit is receiving less referral traffic. This raises questions about publisher relationships, content supply and the potential effect of AI search on Google’s broader web ecosystem. Reddit CEO comments on AI Overviews
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s stronger market reaction underscored investor concerns. Microsoft’s Azure and Copilot results reinforced its AI leadership, highlighting the competitive challenge to Google Cloud. At the same time, Alphabet insiders and several funds reported share sales, adding to cautious sentiment after the earnings-related pullback.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $333.68 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $356.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.52 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Alphabet Company 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.