Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL is Principal Financial Group Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,047,927 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 210,142 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.8% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,458,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co boosted its position in Alphabet by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.38, for a total value of $9,859,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,674,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $508,028,012.80. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Alphabet from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $390.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $412.65.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $382.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $337.75 and a 200-day moving average of $321.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.00 and a 12 month high of $408.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

Alphabet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Q1 results were highlighted as one of the strongest among the Mag 7, with Google Cloud showing accelerating sales growth and broader AI momentum helping investor sentiment. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s I/O announcements continued to reinforce Alphabet’s AI story, including new AI search experiences, agent tools, and upcoming AI glasses that suggest the company is expanding beyond traditional search. We tried Google’s AI glasses and they’re almost there
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with multiple firms reiterating positive views and new AI ad formats seen as potentially boosting conversions and monetization in Search and Commerce. Alphabet’s new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Google unveiled a $15 billion Missouri data center investment, underscoring continued capital spending to support AI infrastructure and cloud demand. Google Unveils $15 Billion Missouri Data Center Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discussed Google’s revamped AI-driven search experience and agent ecosystem, which are strategically important but still too early to measure their near-term financial impact. Google is pitching an AI agent ecosystem to consumers who may not buy it
• Negative Sentiment: Waymo temporarily suspended service in multiple cities after robotaxis drove into flooded roads, adding another safety and execution concern for Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle unit. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s appeal of the antitrust ruling remains the biggest overhang, since a loss or forced remedies could eventually weigh on the company’s core search and advertising economics. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

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.