Busey Bank Has $46.28 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Busey Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 160,945 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.3% of Busey Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Busey Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $46,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.28, for a total value of $39,343.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,615,656.24. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.73.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $359.51 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $371.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.48 and a 52-week high of $408.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $4.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is being highlighted by analysts and market commentators as a top large-cap or “monopoly” stock, with bullish takes pointing to its AI-enabled ad business, cloud exposure, and strong earnings outlook. Here’s Why Alphabet (GOOGL) Is One of the Best Monopoly Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
• Positive Sentiment: Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis called for a U.S.-led AI standards body, reinforcing Alphabet’s leadership role in frontier AI development and potentially supporting long-term investor confidence. Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis calls for U.S. to spearhead AI standards body
• Positive Sentiment: INVIDI announced a collaboration with Google to expand addressable advertising on unconnected set-top boxes, a potentially incremental ad monetization opportunity for Alphabet. INVIDI Technologies Collaborates with Google to Integrate Google Ad Manager…
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports say Alphabet continues to outperform the market and remains favored by growth investors, but these are mostly commentary pieces rather than new business developments. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting broader optimism around Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation, and AI chip strategy, which supports the stock but does not appear to be the main driver of the move. Google Vs. Nvidia: The Hidden Silicon Advantage That Could Let Google Dethrone Nvidia
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is facing fresh antitrust scrutiny in Switzerland over the removal of the Android “choice screen,” adding to regulatory pressure on its search dominance. Google probed by Swiss regulator over Android default search feature
• Negative Sentiment: Google also faces a new class-action lawsuit from publishers and authors alleging improper use of copyrighted works to train Gemini, raising legal and potential cost risks. Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers
• Negative Sentiment: UK and Swiss regulatory actions targeting Google Search and Android data portability also weigh on sentiment because they could weaken Alphabet’s search moat over time. Should UK Search Data Portability Rules For Google Reshape Alphabet’s Competitive Moat (GOOGL) Narrative?

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.