ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Sells 21,512 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,361 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 21,512 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.1% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $18,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $18,093,665,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128,234 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,529,742 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $24,240,469,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904,434 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $1,017,756,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $678,198,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total transaction of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $995,341.06. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $348.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.78.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet shareholders approved an expansion of the company’s stock plan and re-elected the board, a routine but shareholder-friendly governance update that signals continuity and support for management. Alphabet Shareholders Approve Stock Plan Expansion, Reelect Board
• Positive Sentiment: Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, launched a $29.99 monthly “Premier” subscription and added perks like cash back and free cancellations, suggesting Alphabet is still pushing to monetize robotaxi demand in high-usage markets. Waymo launches premier subscription tier
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet is expanding its AI footprint through new Google chip plans and continued infrastructure support for Anthropic, reinforcing the view that Google Cloud and its AI ecosystem could benefit from long-term demand. Google in talks with Samsung to make next-generation chips
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted bullish analyst and investor sentiment, including higher earnings estimates and Alphabet’s continued status as a favored large-cap AI name. Analyst estimate updates and AI-stock commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Google said it identified an active cyber extortion campaign targeting Oracle PeopleSoft users via a ShinyHunters exploit; the issue appears to be a threat-intelligence update rather than a direct breach of Alphabet systems. Google says ShinyHunters hackers targeting education sector via Oracle exploit
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s Gemini and AI Overview products drew more scrutiny, including reports of search/AI controversy and temporary Workspace AI errors, which may keep debate alive around product quality and AI monetization. Google Stock Drops as AI Overview Faces Fresh Controversy
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on heavy capex and how quickly Alphabet can turn AI spending into durable revenue, especially as some commentary questioned search monetization and data-center economics. Alphabet Stock Opinions on Capital Raise and AI Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: A California judge denied a new trial in the youth social media addiction case involving YouTube, leaving Alphabet exposed to ongoing legal and reputational risk. Meta and Google denied new trial after landmark verdict

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $356.56 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $356.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.24. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $404.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The firm’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 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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.