Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,200,482 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 649,707 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.2% of Legal & General Group Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,670,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 369,922,502 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $130,704,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in Alphabet by 28,482.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 196,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $3,832,277.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 451,925 shares of company stock worth $12,371,544. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wedbush initiated coverage on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $379.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $415.55.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Alphabet’s outlook. Citizens analyst Andrew Boone expects the stock to reach a new all-time high over the next year, while recent GOOG targets have a median of $455, well above recent trading levels. Wall Street analyst sets Google price target
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s record cloud growth, Gemini development and expanding AI infrastructure continue to support the bullish case. Investors are debating whether the company’s large AI spending program will produce durable growth, but some analysts view the recent pullback as an opportunity. One Mag 7 stock to watch
• Positive Sentiment: Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an Indian IPO, potentially creating value for Alphabet’s investment and increasing visibility into one of its strategic holdings. Jio Platforms receives IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares for approximately $27,700, reducing her position by only 0.43%. The small transaction is unlikely to materially change Alphabet’s investment outlook, though broader insider activity has consisted entirely of sales during the past six months. Alphabet SEC insider filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Meta’s AI-powered advertising products could challenge Google Search’s advertising dominance. OpenAI’s reported $1 billion advertising run rate adds to fears that competition for digital-ad budgets is intensifying. Bernstein warns on Meta competition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure remains a major overhang. Google avoided a potential European penalty by changing search rules, while a £260 million U.K. app-store settlement adds another direct cost and highlights continuing scrutiny of its business practices. Google changes European search rules
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s aggressive AI capital expenditures are raising concerns about free-cash-flow pressure and future margins, particularly as investors compare its spending strategy with Amazon’s. Alphabet and Amazon AI capital spending
• Negative Sentiment: Google Maps’ decision to display “Lake America” for U.S. users has triggered backlash in Canada, creating reputational and political risk, although the immediate financial impact appears limited. Google Maps Lake America controversy

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $335.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $347.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $340.20. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $206.96 and a one year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.