Staley Capital Advisers Inc. Sells 7,534 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Staley Capital Advisers Inc. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 586,657 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,534 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 7.1% of Staley Capital Advisers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Staley Capital Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $168,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $355.03 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.54 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $369.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $335.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

More Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces highlighted Alphabet’s durable AI and cloud execution, including commentary that its distribution across Search, Android, YouTube, and Google Cloud gives it an edge in monetizing AI better than many rivals.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary remained constructive, with Zacks upgrading Alphabet to “strong-buy,” and multiple reports saying the stock still looks undervalued after its strong rally and may have further upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s cloud and AI ecosystem continues to draw positive coverage, including a new agentic AI collaboration with Accenture and reports that digital demand and data-center growth could support the business in the second half of 2026.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term confidence also got a boost from comments that Alphabet could be a winner in the AI race due to its massive distribution footprint and ability to turn AI spending into real returns.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s search product set a record for queries per second during the World Cup, reinforcing the strength of its core franchise, though this is more of a usage signal than a direct earnings catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo’s plan to expand driverless rides to more cities supports Alphabet’s optionality in autonomous vehicles, but the impact on near-term stock performance is likely limited.
• Negative Sentiment: News that Google and OpenAI provided AI model access to Singapore-based affiliates of Chinese firms has renewed policy and export-control concerns, which could raise regulatory risk around AI distribution.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is also facing more scrutiny abroad, including the UK bringing Google cloud services under direct oversight and an ongoing legal fight in India over its ads platform.
• Negative Sentiment: Some traders remain cautious about competition, with reports suggesting Meta could challenge Google’s AI leadership and that Alphabet’s recent price action has lagged broader tech at times.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $445.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.53.

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.