Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $3.19 Billion Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,110,625 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,698 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,194,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL opened at $342.09 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.82 and a 12-month high of $408.61. 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 50-day moving average price of $366.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $338.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.24.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $6.47. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $119.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.07 billion. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 6.71%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates by a wide margin, signaling strong underlying business momentum. Alphabet (GOOGL) Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s 82% growth suggests Alphabet’s AI spending is translating into faster cloud demand and improving monetization. Google quarterly cloud revenue growth beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: YouTube ad revenue growth and strength across search and advertising add evidence that core businesses are still healthy. YouTube Ad Revenue Rises 13% In Q2 To Surpass $11 Billion, Helping To Drive Strong Report By Parent Alphabet

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. CICC Research raised their target price on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Arete Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $414.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 159,415 shares of company stock valued at $7,672,279 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.