Legal & General Group Plc Has $9.75 Billion Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,071,677 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,511,655 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.2% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,750,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its position in Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1,438.5% in the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.00.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.8%

GOOG opened at $355.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $346.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid 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 Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet expanded its collaboration with Google Cloud and Lovable in a multi-year deal, reinforcing demand for Google Cloud infrastructure and AI tools. Lovable Expands Collaboration With Google Cloud to Scale AI-Powered Software Creation
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted strong investor appetite for Alphabet’s AI expansion, including an upsized equity raise to $84.75 billion and Berkshire Hathaway’s planned $10 billion participation, which signals outside confidence in the company’s AI strategy. Alphabet to raise $84.75 billion in upsized equity offering to fund AI ambitions
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet said its Gemini AI app has reached 900 million users, underscoring momentum in its consumer AI products and supporting the long-term growth story. Alphabet’s Gemini AI App Surges to 900 Million Users
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating buy ratings and price targets around the low-to-mid $400s, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside despite recent volatility. Google to See Variable Margins, Cloud Segment Growth Through 2028, UBS Says
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators imposed new conduct requirements on Google Search, including letting publishers opt out of AI search features and model training, which could weaken the economics of AI Overviews and increase regulatory pressure. UK regulator enforces new competition requirements for Google search
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also appear uneasy about the scale of Alphabet’s AI spending plans, since the huge capital raise raises dilution concerns and suggests heavy infrastructure costs ahead. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.