Associated Banc Corp Sells 3,159 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Associated Banc Corp lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,165 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,159 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ring Mountain Capital LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. HRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.0%

Alphabet stock opened at $372.58 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $344.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $325.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 6.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s planned $10 billion investment in Alphabet adds a major vote of confidence and helps validate the company’s AI expansion strategy. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary said Google is a clear beneficiary as AI search grows, supporting the view that Alphabet can defend and extend its core search franchise even as AI competition intensifies. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,” Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s ties to high-profile private AI names like Anthropic and SpaceX could give investors additional indirect exposure ahead of possible future IPOs, though this is more of a longer-term optionality story. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs: What That Means For Investors
• Negative Sentiment: The planned $80 billion capital raise may weigh on sentiment because it implies substantial spending needs and potential dilution, even if it strengthens Alphabet’s AI capacity. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, potentially limiting Google’s access to some government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,235.59. The trade was a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 225,516 shares of company stock valued at $27,142,399. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.50.

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.