Associated Banc Corp Has $31.12 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp trimmed its Alphabet stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, but still held 99,165 shares worth about $31.1 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Alphabet reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $5.11 and revenue of $109.9 billion, both beating analyst expectations and reflecting 21.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Buy consensus and an average price target of $378.50.

Associated Banc Corp cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,165 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,159 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $678,198,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $869,781,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $455,745,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 225,516 shares of company stock valued at $27,142,399 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $372.58 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $344.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $325.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is 6.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $378.50.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s planned $10 billion investment in Alphabet adds a major vote of confidence and helps validate the company’s AI expansion strategy. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary said Google is a clear beneficiary as AI search grows, supporting the view that Alphabet can defend and extend its core search franchise even as AI competition intensifies. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,” Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s ties to high-profile private AI names like Anthropic and SpaceX could give investors additional indirect exposure ahead of possible future IPOs, though this is more of a longer-term optionality story. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs: What That Means For Investors
• Negative Sentiment: The planned $80 billion capital raise may weigh on sentiment because it implies substantial spending needs and potential dilution, even if it strengthens Alphabet’s AI capacity. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, potentially limiting Google’s access to some government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

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.

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