Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Busey Bank

Busey Bank decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 552,579 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 35,727 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 4.3% of Busey Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Busey Bank’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $158,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,093,665,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 850.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 17,692,600 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,551,938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,830,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted Alphabet’s AI advantage, arguing that its control of Search, Android, YouTube, Google Cloud and its chip/model stack gives it one of the best paths to monetize AI at scale. Alphabet vs. Meta: Which AI Stock Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud-related partnerships remain a tailwind, including Accenture’s launch of agentic AI solutions built with Alphabet’s Google Cloud for mid-market firms, reinforcing demand for its enterprise AI offerings. Accenture and Alphabet (GOOGL) Launch Agentic AI Solutions for Mid-Market Firms
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s strong quarterly results and cloud growth continue to drive bullish takes, with investors pointing to revenue growth, AI spending efficiency, and improving profitability as reasons the stock could outperform. Alphabet Stock: Locking In Long-Term Rule Of 40 Supremacy

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $356.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.74 and a 12-month high of $404.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $369.66 and a 200-day moving average of $335.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Alphabet from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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 report on Friday, May 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.19.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,290 shares in the company, valued at $26,298,044.10. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total transaction of $153,432.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at $9,345,358.56. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock valued at $8,020,511. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Alphabet

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.