Next Level Private LLC Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Next Level Private LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,523 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,146 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.9% of Next Level Private LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Next Level Private LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,551,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total transaction of $149,606.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was 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 600,547 shares of company stock worth $16,255,540 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $450.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.09.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

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

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $353.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.46 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

About Alphabet

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.