Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,890,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 15,709 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.7% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $907,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 258 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.00, for a total value of $284,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,918 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,564. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 226,481 shares of company stock worth $27,422,061. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $386.12 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $404.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $341.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The business had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Key Stories Impacting 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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. Truist Financial set a $385.00 target price on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Alphabet from $395.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.65.

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.