Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Position Boosted by DNB Asset Management AS

Key Points

• DNB Asset Management AS increased its Alphabet stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 988,337 shares valued at about $310.1 million.
• Alphabet continues to draw bullish attention from analysts, with multiple firms reiterating buy or overweight ratings and JPMorgan raising its price target to $460. The consensus rating remains Buy.
• The company reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $5.11 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year over year. Alphabet also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 988,337 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,802 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.1% of DNB Asset Management AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. DNB Asset Management AS's holdings in Alphabet were worth $310,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,438.5% during the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 200 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. 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: Recent commentary says Alphabet was one of the biggest winners among the Mag 7 this earnings season, helped by accelerating Google Cloud sales and broader AI-driven strength. Alphabet and NVIDIA: The Biggest Mag 7 Winners This Earnings Season
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Alphabet’s new AI ad formats and shopping tools as potential catalysts for stronger search monetization, higher conversion rates, and increased ad spending. Alphabet's new AI ad formats seen boosting conversions and spending
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a large $15 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment in Missouri, reinforcing investor confidence in its cloud and AI buildout. Google Deepens Missouri Roots with New Data Center, Energy, and Community Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Google unveiled new AI search and agent features at I/O, which could improve engagement over time, but the rollout also raised concerns about complexity and possible disruption to the traditional search experience. You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo temporarily paused some robotaxi and freeway services after safety issues in flooded roads and construction zones; while this is not core to Alphabet’s profits, it adds execution risk and negative headlines. Waymo suspends freeway rides, pauses Atlanta operations amid safety fixes
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet has appealed the U.S. search-monopoly ruling, keeping antitrust overhang and potential remedies in focus for investors. Google appeals US court ruling on search monopoly

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.00, for a total value of $37,842.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,908,391. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total transaction of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock valued at $27,422,061 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.65.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $379.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $335.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $321.07. 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 (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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

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.

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