Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,381,160 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,700 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.9% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $745,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Kentucky Trust Co lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 170 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7%

GOOGL opened at $400.69 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $318.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.20 and a 12 month high of $402.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $2.47. The company had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.98 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.65, for a total value of $348,232.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,187,638.65. The trade was a 22.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.89, for a total value of $10,006,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,573,853.40. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 158,553 shares of company stock worth $47,951,856 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group set a $410.00 price target on Alphabet and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $340.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $407.86.

Key Alphabet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet unveiled upcoming AI-powered bidding and budget-pacing tools for Google Ads, which could make Search and Shopping advertising more efficient and attractive for advertisers. Google AI Automates Ad Bidding and Budget Pacing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets on Alphabet, including DBS Bank to $460 and other firms lifting estimates after the company’s earnings beat, reinforcing the view that results remain stronger than expected. DBS Bank Adjusts Price Target on Alphabet to 460
• Positive Sentiment: Google Cloud’s partnership with OTB Group on a generative-AI virtual try-on experience adds to the narrative that Alphabet can monetize AI across enterprise and retail use cases. Google Cloud Partners With OTB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong investor appetite for AI leaders such as Google, and recent coverage continues to frame Alphabet as one of the main beneficiaries of the AI spending cycle. Google, Broadcom Drive Delirious Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent reports on Google’s AI “agent” efforts and AI search features suggest Alphabet is expanding its product lead in next-generation search and automation tools. Meta, Google enter AI agent race
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet is also getting more time to address EU regulators’ concerns in an ongoing antitrust investigation, which removes some immediate pressure but does not eliminate the legal overhang. Google Gets More Time in EU Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Google faces a new UK lawsuit over online display ads, adding another antitrust/legal risk that could weigh on sentiment if regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Google Faces New UK Lawsuit Over Online Display Ads

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.

Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.