Alphabet Inc. $GOOG is Principal Financial Group Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,181,946 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 718,053 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,060,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp set a $445.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $383.44.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains broadly bullish, with multiple firms reiterating buy/outperform ratings and several raising price targets, including Wedbush’s $445 target, signaling continued confidence in Alphabet’s long-term earnings power and AI/cloud growth. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Alphabet could beat estimates on strong cloud growth and a larger-than-expected value from its Anthropic stake, which supports the bull case ahead of earnings. Proactive Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett publicly said he initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s Alphabet investment and called the stock more likely to be a winner, which adds a high-profile vote of confidence for investors. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Recent institutional filings show major investors like Berkshire Hathaway adding to GOOG/GOOGL positions, reinforcing long-term institutional support for the stock. Quiver Quantitative
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet continues rolling out AI-related product updates, including Google Vids avatar tools and new app integrations in AI Mode, which show product momentum but are unlikely to move the stock on their own. TechCrunch
• Neutral Sentiment: A new lobbying disclosure showed Alphabet spending on privacy, competition, and platform-bias issues, which is routine regulatory activity and not a direct earnings driver. Quiver Quantitative
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union ordered Google to open Android and search data to rival AI and search companies, a regulatory move that could weaken Alphabet’s competitive moat and increase compliance pressure. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet is also facing fresh legal and investor scrutiny, including a securities-fraud investigation announcement and a report that its AI search tools may pose safety risks for children, both of which add headline risk. Business Wire
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling has been heavy, with no insider purchases in the last six months, which may weigh on sentiment even if the sales are not necessarily a fundamental red flag. Quiver Quantitative

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $353.81 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.50 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $367.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $336.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The company 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%.Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

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.