Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Decreases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,316,317 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 94,947 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.9% of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $412,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,534,239,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,338,397,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 855.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 14,525,280 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,546,413,000 after buying an additional 13,004,828 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 528,969,322 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,567,398,000 after buying an additional 12,531,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 28.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,107,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,910,542,000 after buying an additional 11,605,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on Alphabet from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, New Street Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Google Cloud is gaining momentum, with HSBC announcing a multi-year partnership to expand its AI usage on Google Cloud, and another AI startup, Ineffable Intelligence, choosing Google Cloud as its preferred infrastructure partner. These deals reinforce Alphabet’s position in enterprise AI and cloud growth. HSBC partners with Google Cloud to expand AI usage
• Positive Sentiment: Google also unveiled a new Gemini-powered Google Home Speaker and broader Android 17/Gemini updates, highlighting continued product rollout across consumer devices and AI features that could support ecosystem engagement over time. Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker
• Positive Sentiment: At the G7, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis joined other AI leaders in calling for a U.S.-led AI coalition, underscoring Alphabet’s influence in shaping the AI industry and keeping Google front and center in policy discussions. CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind call for U.S.-led AI coalition in meeting at G7
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary pieces remain mixed, with some still bullish on Alphabet’s AI and cloud growth while others warn that heavy capital spending, competition, and a stretched valuation could limit upside near term. Alphabet Drops 6% in a Month: Buy, Sell, or Hold the GOOGL Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces fresh regulatory pressure in the U.K., where the competition watchdog set conduct requirements for Google Search to increase fairness and transparency in ranking results. That adds to worries about search monetization and long-term control over its core business. UK regulator sets out conduct requirements for Google’s search services

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total value of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,701. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 159,466 shares of company stock worth $6,957,543 in the last three months. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $363.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.23. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $364.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.35.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Alphabet 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.