Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Holdings Cut by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its Alphabet stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 732,522 shares and ending with 10.67 million shares worth about $3.35 billion. Alphabet remains Swedbank’s sixth-largest holding.
• Alphabet delivered strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $5.11 versus expectations of $2.68 and revenue of $109.9 billion versus $106.96 billion forecast. Revenue rose 21.8% year over year.
• Investor sentiment is mixed but generally positive: analysts still have a consensus “Buy” rating, and Berkshire Hathaway’s reported $10 billion commitment is seen as a boost to Alphabet’s AI strategy. However, concerns remain about dilution from the company’s planned $80 billion stock sale to fund AI buildout.

Swedbank AB lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,671,172 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 732,522 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.2% of Swedbank AB's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Swedbank AB owned about 0.09% of Alphabet worth $3,348,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,381,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 354,529 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $86,345,000 after buying an additional 84,553 shares during the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,391 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $53,920,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,739 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,060,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steginsky Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Steginsky Capital LLC now owns 680,588 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $165,757,000 after buying an additional 6,523 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion commitment to Alphabet supports the company’s AI strategy and signals strong long-term investor confidence. Berkshire invests extra $10 billion in Alphabet, deepening bet on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Google remains a key beneficiary of AI search growth, suggesting its core search and ad business may hold up better than feared. Google Is the Clear Beneficiary,’ Says Top Analyst as AI Search Takes Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s stakes in private AI-related companies such as Anthropic and exposure to future IPO optionality may add long-term upside, but this is not a near-term catalyst. Alphabet Stock Offers Exposure To SpaceX, Anthropic Before IPOs
• Negative Sentiment: The $80 billion stock sale raised concerns about dilution and the rising cost of Alphabet’s AI expansion, which is pressuring sentiment in the stock. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported the EU may tighten cloud rules in strategic tenders, which could limit Google’s access to certain government contracts in Europe. EU cloud rules to curb Amazon, Google access to strategic tenders

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial set a $430.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $376.00.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock opened at $358.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $404.47. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $344.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.11.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. This represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total value of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock worth $17,282,549. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.