Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,055,853 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,911 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.9% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $876,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings 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 boosted its stake in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after buying an additional 111,699,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,615,656.24. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,467 shares of company stock valued at $4,877,600. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet officially joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average, prompting a stock lift as passive funds and blue-chip investors rebalance into the shares. Reuters: Alphabet debuts in Dow Jones Industrial Average as index tilts toward tech
• Positive Sentiment: Google launched Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni, cheaper and faster AI image/video models that could strengthen its AI product lineup and improve adoption. TechCrunch: Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite
• Positive Sentiment: FactSet announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to build AI-powered financial intelligence tools, adding validation for Google Cloud’s enterprise AI push. Yahoo Finance: FactSet Announces Strategic Partnership with Google Cloud to Bring Advanced AI to Financial Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Visa and Google signed on to use OpenUSD for money movement, suggesting additional ecosystem relevance in digital payments and infrastructure. PYMNTS: Visa and Google Sign on to Use Money Movement Stablecoin OpenUSD
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued bullish analyst views and higher price targets, which support sentiment but are not new fundamental changes by themselves.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still worried about Alphabet’s heavy AI spending, with reports noting massive compute-capacity plans and the risk that capital expenditures may weigh on near-term margins. Yahoo Finance: If You Think Alphabet’s AI Spending Is High Now, Just Wait for 2028
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators opened a consultation aimed at loosening app-store payment restrictions, a potential pressure point for Google’s app marketplace economics. TechXplore: UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales, including by director Frances Arnold and CAO Marsida Saraci, may add a small cautionary note even though the sales were modest. SEC filing: Alphabet insider transaction

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $353.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $366.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $332.53. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $173.88 and a one year high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

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.