Macquarie Group Ltd. Sells 317,765 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Macquarie Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,535,138 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 317,765 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.1% of Macquarie Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $481,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $18,093,665,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $1,017,756,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $678,198,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $358.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $357.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.44. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s drone-delivery unit Wing expanded into seven more U.S. cities with Walmart, reinforcing that its Other Bets can scale into real businesses and may be more valuable than the market gives them credit for.
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo launched a $29.99 monthly membership program, adding a recurring-revenue layer to its robotaxi business and highlighting rapid growth in paid rides, which investors may see as a meaningful long-term opportunity.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst and commentary pieces remain constructive on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and search setup, with some calling it an AI powerhouse and lifting price targets, which supports the stock’s bullish narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Google is also expanding its real-estate listings nationwide and continuing to deepen its AI infrastructure and chip strategy, reinforcing multiple growth avenues beyond search advertising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google filed suit against an alleged Chinese cybercrime group that used AI to scam victims, a move that shows the company is actively defending its platforms, though the stock impact is likely limited unless the issue escalates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet declined a $2 billion U.S. quantum-computing funding program, saying the terms could slow development; that may be viewed as a strategic choice rather than a major financial event.
• Neutral Sentiment: News that some billionaire investors sold Alphabet in Q1 while others bought more adds to the debate, but it does not change the underlying business fundamentals by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage continues to focus on worries about rising capital expenditures and AI monetization, which can pressure sentiment if investors fear Alphabet’s AI spending will take longer to pay off.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s AI Overview feature has also faced renewed controversy, adding another small overhang around search quality and user trust.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.78.

About Alphabet

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.