Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 223,743 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Alphabet by 223,743 shares (a 0.7% rise) in Q3 to hold 32,583,332 shares worth about $7.94 billion, making GOOG its ninth-largest holding and roughly 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Alphabet beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.82 EPS versus $2.59 expected and revenue of $113.83 billion, up 18% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share (annualized $0.84, yield ~0.3%), with an ex-dividend date of March 9 and payment on March 16.

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 223,743 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.8% of Legal & General Group Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.27% of Alphabet worth $7,935,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,070 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Searle & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 5,703 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.2% in the third quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 7,997 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.6%

GOOG stock opened at $306.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $320.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.17. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $350.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.01% and a net margin of 32.81%.The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.21, for a total value of $10,439,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,244,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,914,730.12. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $14,341,182.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at $3,987,279.15. This trade represents a 78.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud won a meaningful enterprise customer use-case after reports that CVS Health will roll out an AI-enabled platform built with Google Cloud — a tangible proof-point for cloud AI demand and potential recurring revenue growth. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): CVS Health To Roll Out AI-enabled Platform With Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and prominent investors reiterated bullish views on Alphabet’s franchise — highlighting YouTube’s monetization and Google’s AI stack (Gemini/TPUs) as durable growth engines that support higher long-term revenue multiple. ‘This Is a Huge Asset,’ Says Analyst about Alphabet Stock (GOOGL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple media pieces continue to position Alphabet as a top AI pick (consumer search + enterprise cloud). These stories support the bull narrative but may be largely priced in given prior rallies. You Don't Need Polymarket to Make a Winning Bet. Just Buy This AI Stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitor dynamics matter: coverage noting Microsoft’s deepening AI/cloud ties underscores the competitive backdrop for cloud margins and enterprise wins — a reminder Alphabet must defend share in a capital-intensive race. Microsoft Positioned to Win AI Race With Dual-Model Strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain sensitive to governance and compensation risk after approval of a sizable CEO pay package tied to Waymo targets; prior coverage linked the package to a near-term stock pullback. Alphabet Approves $692 Million Pay Package for CEO Sundar Pichai with Waymo Growth Incentives
• Negative Sentiment: Hardware and supply risks: reports that Nvidia’s HBM buying spree is causing a memory shortage raise the prospect of higher capex and component costs for data-center operators, which could pressure margins for large cloud providers including Google. Nvidia’s (NVDA) Memory Shortage Could Cause Google (GOOGL) Billions
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Indonesia’s plan to restrict high‑risk digital platforms for under‑16s introduces regional policy uncertainty that could affect ad targeting/engagement in a sizable market. Update: Indonesia Plans to Ban High-Risk Digital Platforms for Children Under 16

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $343.90.

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.

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