AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 48,226 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK Plc trimmed its Alphabet stake by 4.8% in the first quarter, selling 48,226 shares and leaving it with 966,488 shares worth about $276.9 million.
• Alphabet posted strong Q1 results, with EPS of $5.11 versus estimates of $2.64 and revenue of $109.9 billion, topping Wall Street expectations.
• The stock remains broadly supported by analysts, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $413.13, even as shares traded around $346.66 in the report.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 966,488 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 48,226 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 3.7% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Alphabet were worth $276,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $393.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $413.13.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $346.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $166.13 and a 12-month high of $408.61. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $332.50.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.98 billion. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,516 shares of company stock worth $7,344,604. Insiders own 11.61% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet will replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average effective June 29, a notable prestige boost that could support passive fund buying and improve investor sentiment. Alphabet Set to Join and Honeywell International to Remain in Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed its Buy rating on Alphabet, reinforcing confidence in the company’s long-term outlook. Alphabet had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet remains a major AI infrastructure beneficiary, with reports noting accelerating demand at Google Cloud, quarterly cloud revenue above $20 billion, and strong enterprise AI adoption. Alphabet Rides on Accelerating AI Infrastructure Demand: What's Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Google DeepMind announced a $75 million AI research partnership with A24, signaling continued investment in AI applications outside core search and cloud. Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is still dominant in search, but new reports suggest competition from AI-powered alternatives is putting pressure on its long-term search leadership. Google's online dominance Is showing signs of cracking in AI era
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment was hurt by the departure of key AI figures, including Noam Shazeer and John Jumper, raising concerns that Alphabet is losing talent to OpenAI and Anthropic. Alphabet paces for worst day in a year on AI concerns after high-profile exits
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Google’s search dominance may be starting to crack as users test non-AI or AI-free search options, adding pressure on the company’s core revenue engine. Google Losing Ground as Consumers Seek Out Non-AI Search
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern over heavy AI capital spending and higher rates also weighed on megacap tech shares, contributing to Alphabet’s weakness. Alphabet, SpaceX, Intel, and More Stocks That Explain Today's Market

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google's core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google's consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.

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