KBC Group NV Sells 1,902,518 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,836,297 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,902,518 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 4.9% of KBC Group NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of Alphabet worth $1,961,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after buying an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after buying an additional 953,790 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after buying an additional 179,369,280 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after acquiring an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,569,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,151 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,481 shares in the company, valued at $545,941.03. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOG. Phillip Securities cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $445.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.88.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $341.91 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $363.69 and its 200-day moving average is $337.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.70 and a 1 year high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $6.23. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, driven by strong search, ads, and especially Google Cloud growth. S&P 500, Nasdaq close lower ahead of technology earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud growth accelerated sharply on AI demand, reinforcing the case that Alphabet’s AI investments are translating into revenue. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad revenue rose 13%, adding another sign that Alphabet’s core advertising business remains resilient. YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13% In Q2 To Surpass $11 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Google said Gemini has reached 950 million monthly active users, suggesting improving traction in consumer AI. Google’s Gemini app nips at ChatGPT’s heels as it nears 1 billion users

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.