Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $907.07 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its Alphabet stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, but it still held 2.89 million shares valued at about $907.1 million, making GOOG its 7th-largest position.
• Alphabet recently delivered a strong quarterly report, posting $5.11 EPS versus the $2.68 estimate and $109.9 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 21.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on the stock, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.65; Alphabet also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,890,613 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,709 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 2.7% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Alphabet were worth $907,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 29,896 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 84,553 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 431,349 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $105,055,000 after purchasing an additional 42,639 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOG. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, May 21st. DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $372.65.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of GOOG opened at $386.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $404.47. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $341.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.94. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s Waymo unit is rolling out its new “Ojai” robotaxi to select riders in major U.S. cities, with a roomier design, lower manufacturing costs, and a removable steering wheel — all signs that the autonomous vehicle business may become more scalable and economically viable. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet also announced a Google Cloud partnership with EQT to help more than 300 portfolio companies accelerate AI adoption, reinforcing cloud and AI as key growth drivers for the company beyond advertising. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and several market notes described Alphabet as a “crucial position” and suggested investors still may be underestimating Waymo’s value, which can help sentiment but does not change fundamentals by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also interest in Alphabet’s AI-search changes and new Gemini-powered ad formats, which could improve monetization over time, but some observers say the overhaul is still controversial and early reactions are mixed. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Federal prosecutors charged a Google software engineer with using confidential information to make about $1.2 million on Polymarket bets, creating unwanted reputational risk for Alphabet and adding headlines that may pressure sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s recent AI Search overhaul is also drawing criticism, with some users and rival search services benefiting as concerns grow that Google’s changes could hurt traffic patterns and user satisfaction. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,808 shares in the company, valued at $14,293,309.12. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. Company 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.

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