ING Groep NV Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

ING Groep NV trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,558,132 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 391,532 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.1% of ING Groep NV’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $379,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 416,753,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,927,821,000 after buying an additional 5,182,111 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,914,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,511,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428,266 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 107,760,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,022,926,000 after acquiring an additional 441,177 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 35,357,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,272,146,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,503,035 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,588,323,000 after purchasing an additional 695,736 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of GOOG opened at $306.02 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $350.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $321.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.24 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Loop Capital raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s results and AI traction remain strong: Cloud revenue and enterprise backlog are accelerating and Gemini user metrics/support drive upside to long‑term monetization. Zacks: The Zacks Analyst Alphabet…
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo deployment of next‑gen robotaxis signals commercial progress for Alphabet’s autonomous‑vehicle unit, a longer‑term growth catalyst. CNBC: Waymo begins deploying next‑gen Ojai robotaxis
• Neutral Sentiment: Some large asset managers are net buying while others trimmed positions — BNP Paribas added a multi‑million share position in GOOG, offsetting other institutional reductions. QuiverQuant: BNP Paribas fund update
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in recent feeds show zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so shorting activity is not a clear driver today.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet completed a very large multi‑currency debt offering (including long‑dated tranches/century bond reports), which has spooked some investors worried about aggressive debt‑funded CapEx and the lack of customary bond protections. Reuters: Alphabet bonds’ lack of guardrails…
• Negative Sentiment: Management guided 2026 CapEx sharply higher (~$175–$185B), and the market has treated that as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwind risk despite its AI rationale — this contributed to post‑earnings weakness. Zacks: Alphabet drops 7% post Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust scrutiny has resurfaced: regulators are probing Google’s search‑ads auction/pricing practices in Europe, introducing regulatory risk for ad monetization. Reuters: Google targeted by EU over search advertising auction practices
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional trimming reported in 13F updates (e.g., Neuberger, Swiss National Bank saw reductions), which can pressure intraday liquidity/psychology even as other funds add exposure. QuiverQuant: Neuberger Berman fund update

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total transaction of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,163,524.48. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,064,308 shares of company stock valued at $104,383,469 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.