Legal & General Group Plc Has $7.94 Billion Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 223,743 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.8% of Legal & General Group Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,935,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 100.0% during the second quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 60.9% in the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.30, for a total value of $867,569.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,962 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,832.60. The trade was a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder 2017 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 1,845,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $35,060,852.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,112,493 shares of company stock valued at $118,605,094 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.90.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $306.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $320.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.17. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $350.15. 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $113.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

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.