Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 180,434 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,465,384 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 180,434 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 0.8% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Alphabet worth $1,574,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 12.1% during the third quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $278,000. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $257,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 131,036 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,248,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $323.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $350.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $322.32 and a 200 day moving average of $271.38.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.23. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.81% and a return on equity of 35.01%. The business had revenue of $113.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Alphabet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat: Alphabet reported higher‑than‑expected revenue and EPS, Google Cloud grew ~48% YoY and backlog jumped to roughly $240B — proof of strong AI demand underpinning long‑term growth. Alphabet Crushes Earnings — MarketBeat
• Positive Sentiment: Product and ecosystem wins: Gemini adoption and enterprise traction (large token/API usage) are driving monetization across Search, YouTube and Cloud; Waymo is also using Google’s Genie‑3 model for virtual training — signals that AI investments are translating into product advantage. Waymo Taps Google’s Genie 3 — TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst view is broadly positive but mixed on valuation: several price‑target raises and buy/overweight ratings highlight conviction in AI/cloud upside, while some firms flag a hold rating because of aggressive capex and near‑term margin pressure. New Analyst Forecast $395 — QuiverQuant
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate moves: Alphabet announced a small quarterly dividend and continues to convert AI investments into subscriptions and ad monetization — long‑term positives, but limited near‑term impact on share price.
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx shock: management guided roughly $175–185B in 2026 CapEx (nearly double 2025), which spooked investors because it pushes spending and capital intensity into the spotlight and raises near‑term return uncertainty. That guidance is the primary reason shares fell today. Alphabet Resets the Bar for AI Spending — CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Insider & fund selling: recent insider sales and public fund trimming (and some institutional position reductions) add selling pressure and amplify short‑term downside risk. Stock Down on Insider Selling — AmericanBankingNews
• Negative Sentiment: Policy & reputational risks: a proposed bill to regulate data‑center interconnection/charges and internal employee protests over government cloud contracts could raise operating costs or create reputational/headwind risks for data‑center expansion. Power for the People Act S.3682 — QuiverQuant Google Workers Demand End to Cloud Services — NYTimes

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target (up previously from $355.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $343.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.18, for a total transaction of $10,893,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,179,372 shares in the company, valued at $730,481,906.96. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.52, for a total transaction of $202,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,163,524.48. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,070,464 shares of company stock valued at $106,153,077. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet 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.