Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Decreases Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,541,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 47,233 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.3% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $442,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,013,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $132,114,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,128,234 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 187,102,863 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,712,878,000 after purchasing an additional 953,790 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 38,409.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 179,836,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,643,262,000 after purchasing an additional 179,369,280 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Alphabet by 28,482.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 112,091,870 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,174,429,000 after purchasing an additional 111,699,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,602,893 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,569,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,151 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOG. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Freedom Capital downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.19.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s core AI and cloud story remains strong, with new commentary pointing to continued enterprise adoption, including Google Cloud’s expanding role in financial services and other large customers. Reuters: Google disrupts NetNut proxy network used in malware operations
• Positive Sentiment: Several market updates remain bullish on Alphabet’s growth profile, highlighting strong earnings momentum, AI infrastructure investment, and favorable analyst sentiment with multiple buy ratings and elevated price targets.
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud is gaining traction in enterprise AI, including a new deal with Jack Henry, which supports the view that Alphabet can keep growing beyond search and advertising. Zacks: GOOGL’s AI Cloud Strategy Gets a Boost From Jack Henry
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet exceeded its $1 billion Africa investment target, a strategically positive move for long-term expansion but not likely a near-term earnings driver. Reuters: Google has exceeded $1 billion Africa investment target
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag on GOOG today is the EU antitrust setback, which could keep regulators focused on Alphabet’s search, Android, and shopping businesses. Reuters: EU top court dismisses Google fight against record €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also watching Alphabet’s heavy AI capex and compute constraints, which could pressure margins if spending stays elevated. Yahoo Finance: Alphabet Is Limiting Gemini AI Access As Cloud Capacity Tightens
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Alphabet executives, while modest, may add a little caution to sentiment. SEC filing: Alphabet insider transaction

Alphabet Trading Down 0.5%

GOOG opened at $356.18 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $173.88 and a fifty-two week high of $404.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $367.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $333.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 37.92% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.71%.

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 dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.29, for a total value of $3,142,911.42. Following the transaction, the insider owned 75,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,298,044.10. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 160,465 shares of company stock worth $8,020,511 over the last 90 days. 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.