KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $404.55 Million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,137,060 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $404,545,000. Alphabet makes up about 1.9% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,297 shares of company stock worth $15,936,270. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $6.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $150.72. 45,980,516 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,457,403. The company has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $147.22 and a 12-month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Alphabet Profile

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.