Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. slightly reduced its Alphabet stake in Q4, selling 4,369 shares and ending with 495,536 shares valued at about $155.5 million.
• Alphabet saw notable insider selling, including CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares for about $10.0 million; insiders have sold 157,953 shares over the last 90 days.
• The stock remains broadly favored by analysts, with a consensus Buy rating and a target price of $363.40, while the company also reported strong quarterly results and raised its dividend to $0.22 per share.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 495,536 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,369 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.8% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $155,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 955 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total transaction of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,955,564. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,953 shares of company stock valued at $47,767,818. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and other analysts are expecting major Gemini AI announcements at Google I/O, which could reinforce Alphabet’s leadership in AI and support the stock. BofA Sends Blunt Message for Alphabet Investors Ahead of Google I/O
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Alphabet, and Erste Group also lifted earnings estimates, signaling stronger profit expectations ahead of Google I/O. Alphabet had its price target raised by Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Several investors and funds, including Goldman Sachs and Egerton Capital, disclosed larger Alphabet stakes, suggesting continued institutional confidence. Fund Update: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Google’s Gemini Flash model is quietly gaining AI customers and that Alphabet is expanding AI infrastructure point to improving enterprise demand for its AI products. Google has been quietly gaining AI customers, even before big releases next week
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet completed a record 576.5 billion yen bond offering to fund AI capex, showing it still has strong access to capital for its infrastructure buildout. Alphabet completes record-breaking yen bond issuance
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Google is in talks with SpaceX to launch data centers into space is intriguing, but it is still early-stage and speculative. Google in Talks with SpaceX to Launch Data Centers into Space
• Neutral Sentiment: Isomorphic Labs raised $2.1 billion to use AI for drug discovery, which highlights Alphabet’s broader AI ecosystem, but the direct stock impact is limited for now. Isomorphic Labs Raises $2.1 Billion to End Disease With AI
• Negative Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square sharply cut its GOOG and GOOGL positions, adding to concern that some large investors may be taking profits after the run-up. Fund Update: Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary says Alphabet’s heavy AI and cloud spending is pressuring free cash flow, raising questions about near-term margins and valuation. 6.7% AA2 Bond Yield From Alphabet, But There Is a Catch

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $363.40.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $393.32 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $399.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. 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 analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Alphabet 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.