Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,200,482 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 649,707 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.2% of Legal & General Group Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.25% of Alphabet worth $10,670,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.55.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock opened at $335.41 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $347.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.96 and a 1-year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 118,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $2,232,808.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 82 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.71, for a total transaction of $27,692.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,414,801.45. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 451,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,371,544. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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 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.