Danske Bank A S Has $939.75 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Danske Bank A S increased its Alphabet stake by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 210,099 shares to bring its total to 2,994,735 shares worth about $939.7 million. Alphabet is now its 9th largest holding and makes up roughly 2.2% of the portfolio.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.11 versus the $2.68 estimate and revenue of $109.9 billion versus $106.96 billion expected. Revenue rose 21.8% year over year, and the company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on GOOG, with six Strong Buy ratings, 28 Buy ratings, and a consensus price target of $362.73. The article also noted upbeat commentary around Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and Gemini growth momentum, alongside some insider selling in recent months.

Danske Bank A S raised its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,994,735 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 210,099 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.2% of Danske Bank A S's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Danske Bank A S's holdings in Alphabet were worth $939,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $61,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Google said it likely stopped a hacker group from using AI to plan a large-scale cyberattack, underscoring the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities and reducing the risk of a major breach. Reuters: Hackers pushing innovation in AI-enabled hacking operations, Google says
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remained upbeat on Alphabet’s AI, cloud, and Gemini momentum, with some coverage arguing the company could challenge Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. MSN: Alphabet could overtake Nvidia as world's largest company
• Neutral Sentiment: Google Finance is expanding in Europe, adding another AI-focused product initiative, but this is more of a long-term growth story than an immediate stock-moving catalyst. PYMNTS: Google Finance Continues AI-Focused Expansion With EU Launch

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the sale, the director owned 3,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,187,638.65. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 47,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $14,341,182.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,987,279.15. The trade was a 78.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock valued at $47,951,856 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Alphabet from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp set a $370.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.73.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $386.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $320.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.53. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.58 and a 1 year high of $398.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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.

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