iA Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 640,499 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 17,365 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.6% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $200,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 8.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,904,434 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 40,032,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,749,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,203 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,583,332 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,935,671,000 after buying an additional 223,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,625,464 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,971,769,000 after buying an additional 539,679 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $384.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $338.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.49.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.Alphabet’s revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.65.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google used its Marketing Live event to roll out AI-powered ad products tied to Gemini, including conversational ads, smarter Shopping Ads, and checkout inside AI search results — a sign that Alphabet is turning its AI push into new revenue opportunities. Google Wants Ads to Talk Back in AI Search
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Alphabet’s strong AI and cloud momentum, including Google Cloud expansion, Gemini adoption, and a bullish outlook that sees the company benefiting from continued search and advertising strength. What Google Search’s New AI Mode Means for B2B Discovery
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and analyst chatter continued to frame Alphabet as a leading AI beneficiary, with some price targets and forecasts implying meaningful upside from current levels. Is Most-Watched Stock Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Worth Betting on Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated after Google I/O and the company’s AI overhaul, but some coverage warns that publishers could lose traffic as search becomes more AI-driven. Google Search AI Overhaul Leaves Publishers Bracing For ‘Google Zero’
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet faces fresh regulatory overhang after reports said the EU is preparing a record antitrust penalty over alleged search favoritism under the Digital Markets Act, which could pressure sentiment. EU plans to fine Google high triple-digit million euro sum, Handelsblatt reports
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines also noted user pushback against Google’s AI Search changes and reports of DuckDuckGo gaining installs, suggesting potential concern about how users will react to the new search experience. DuckDuckGo installs are up 30% as users reject being ‘force-fed’ Google’s AI Search

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.