Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Stock Holdings Lessened by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,836,297 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,902,518 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 4.9% of KBC Group NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,961,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $386.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $341.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.70 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $363.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $337.49.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $6.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. 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 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, driven by strong search, ads, and especially Google Cloud growth. S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower ahead of technology earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated sharply on AI demand, reinforcing the case that Alphabet’s AI investments are translating into revenue. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad revenue rose 13%, adding another sign that Alphabet’s core advertising business remains resilient. YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13% In Q2 To Surpass $11 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Google said Gemini has reached 950 million monthly active users, suggesting improving traction in consumer AI. Google’s Gemini app nips at ChatGPT’s heels as it nears 1 billion users

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.