Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 906,165 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 96,724 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 0.7% of KBC Group NV’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $323,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.20, for a total value of $149,606.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,125,015.20. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total transaction of $3,142,911.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 451,945 shares of company stock worth $12,382,714 over the last 90 days. 11.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $346.96 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.65 and a twelve month high of $408.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $6.22. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.07 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 51.32% and a net margin of 54.77%. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 20.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $375.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $465.00 price target on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $420.19.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its Alphabet position. Berkshire’s second-quarter filing reportedly showed an 83% increase in its stake to approximately $37.8 billion, making Alphabet one of its largest holdings. The purchase may reinforce investor confidence in Alphabet’s valuation, cash generation and AI growth prospects. Berkshire Boosts Its Bet: This AI Hyperscaler Is Now a Top-3 Holding
• Positive Sentiment: Google expanded Gemini Enterprise into legal and financial services. New specialized AI agents and tools could help Google Cloud monetize Gemini, compete with Anthropic and OpenAI, and deepen relationships with high-value enterprise customers. Google expands Gemini AI platform for law firms, lawyers
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet-owned Waymo is expanding internationally. Waymo plans to test autonomous vehicles in Munich and launch commercial driverless rides in Germany in 2027, its first European market. The move supports the long-term growth case for Alphabet’s autonomous-driving investments, although near-term financial benefits are likely limited. Waymo to begin testing autonomous vehicles in Munich
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s in-house TPU strategy is attracting attention. Reports that TPU volume could potentially triple by 2027 suggest growing demand for Google’s AI infrastructure and could improve cloud economics while reducing reliance on Nvidia hardware. Google TPU Volume Could Triple to 8.8 Million by 2027
• Neutral Sentiment: Google reportedly plans to move Pixel manufacturing out of China by 2027. Shifting production to Vietnam and India could diversify supply chains, but relocation costs and execution risks make the immediate earnings impact uncertain. Google plans to move all Pixel manufacturing out of China by 2027
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into claims on behalf of Alphabet investors. The notice provides few details, but securities-law investigations can create headline risk, potential legal expenses and uncertainty for shareholders. Investor Alert: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Alphabet
• Negative Sentiment: Possible delays to a new Gemini Pro release may be weighing on AI sentiment. Reports that a flagship Gemini update may not arrive before late September could raise concerns about Google’s pace of innovation as competition from Anthropic and OpenAI intensifies. Gemini Pro delay leaves Google with an empty flagship tier

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.