Legal & General Group Plc Sells 1,511,655 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Alphabet stake by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,511,655 shares. It still held more than 31 million shares, making Alphabet its 7th largest holding.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.11 beating estimates and revenue rising 21.8% year over year to $109.9 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.22 per share.
• Investor sentiment remains mixed: Alphabet is drawing support from AI-driven growth and analyst buy ratings, but concerns remain about heavy AI spending, potential dilution from a large capital raise, and new UK regulatory requirements on Google Search.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,071,677 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,511,655 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.2% of Legal & General Group Plc's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.26% of Alphabet worth $9,750,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ring Mountain Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $355.68 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $346.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $326.15. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.28 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet expanded its collaboration with Google Cloud and Lovable in a multi-year deal, reinforcing demand for Google Cloud infrastructure and AI tools. Lovable Expands Collaboration With Google Cloud to Scale AI-Powered Software Creation
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted strong investor appetite for Alphabet’s AI expansion, including an upsized equity raise to $84.75 billion and Berkshire Hathaway’s planned $10 billion participation, which signals outside confidence in the company’s AI strategy. Alphabet to raise $84.75 billion in upsized equity offering to fund AI ambitions
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet said its Gemini AI app has reached 900 million users, underscoring momentum in its consumer AI products and supporting the long-term growth story. Alphabet’s Gemini AI App Surges to 900 Million Users
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating buy ratings and price targets around the low-to-mid $400s, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside despite recent volatility. Google to See Variable Margins, Cloud Segment Growth Through 2028, UBS Says
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulators imposed new conduct requirements on Google Search, including letting publishers opt out of AI search features and model training, which could weaken the economics of AI Overviews and increase regulatory pressure. UK regulator enforces new competition requirements for Google search
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also appear uneasy about the scale of Alphabet’s AI spending plans, since the huge capital raise raises dilution concerns and suggests heavy infrastructure costs ahead. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.00.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,132,701. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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