Swedbank AB Increases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,403,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 396,443 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.8% of Swedbank AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,777,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 25,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,929,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $295,000. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 79.1% during the first quarter. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,855 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,364,297 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $994,294,000 after acquiring an additional 134,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet has outperformed other Magnificent Seven members YTD (about +66%) which underpins momentum and investor confidence in GOOG’s AI/search-led growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BMO and other sell?side commentary highlight accelerating AI-driven cloud commitments as a structural growth catalyst for Google Cloud revenue and margins — supports higher earnings multiples for GOOG. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s acquisition of Intersect (data?center/energy infrastructure) is a strategic move to scale capacity for AI workloads — likely positive for long?term cloud/AI positioning (capex & integration risk remain). Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and price?target updates remain bullish (multiple recent buys/overweights and median targets near/above current levels), reinforcing institutional demand; large funds (UBS, Berkshire, Fidelity) materially added positions in Q3. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Industry comparisons point to Alphabet’s AI momentum (Search + Cloud) as a competitive edge versus other AI names like Adobe — a narrative likely to attract growth and momentum money. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Product improvements — Google is testing a way to let some users change Gmail addresses without losing data. Helpful for user satisfaction but low near-term revenue impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and buy?the?dip narratives (MarketBeat, Motley Fool) may sustain retail interest; they support sentiment but aren’t new fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~35% in December (to ~56.15M shares), increasing potential downside pressure and volatility if sentiment weakens. (Higher days?to?cover also raises squeeze risk but signals more bearish positioning.)
• Negative Sentiment: Quiver/other data flag heavy insider selling (multiple senior executives sold shares recently), which some investors view as a cautionary signal on near?term conviction. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Operational note: Waymo paused SF robotaxis during extreme weather — minor near?term PR/operational impact, but highlights autonomous mobility regulatory/operational risks. Article Title

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $314.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.52. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $328.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $313.04.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $184,914.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,872.04. This represents a 13.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.80, for a total transaction of $9,743,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,239,619 shares in the company, valued at $671,437,776.20. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 228,906 shares of company stock valued at $63,984,117 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.