AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $197.85 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 690,013 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 56,494 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.6% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $197,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ring Mountain Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 1,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 919 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $430.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. The trade was a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,344,604. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $348.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $364.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.23. 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 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $404.47.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Key AI researchers have left Alphabet for competitors, intensifying worries that the company is losing critical talent needed to lead in generative AI. Reuters: Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also worried that Alphabet’s aggressive AI spending plans, including a large equity raise to fund infrastructure and compute, could dilute shareholders and pressure free cash flow. Quiver Quantitative: Alphabet Slides as AI Funding Plan Fuels Dilution Worries
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a $75 million AI research partnership with A24, showing it is still investing in new AI use cases, but this was overshadowed by the talent-loss narrative. TechCrunch: Google DeepMind bets $75M on AI’s future in Hollywood with A24 deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain strong, with Alphabet’s latest quarter beating expectations on both earnings and revenue, which helps offset some of the negative sentiment. Alphabet stock page

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.