Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s 7th Largest Position

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,731,908 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,762 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.9% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $385,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Veracity Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 10,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Alphabet by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 6,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in Alphabet by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 7,359 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its stake in Alphabet by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 27,723 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 8,238 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $157.95 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.27 and a 52 week high of $161.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $147.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.