KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $391.31 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 3.3% during the second quarter, owning over 2.2 million shares worth approximately $391.31 million, which makes it the 7th largest position in their portfolio.
• Alphabet recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing predictions by $0.16, with total revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The firm declared a $0.21 dividend per share, which translates to an annualized figure of $0.84 and a yield of 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 8.95% as noted in its recent filings.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,220,460 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 71,800 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.7% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Alphabet were worth $391,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,838,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Financial Council LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Council LLC now owns 5,800 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enzi Wealth lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $251.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $229.41 and its 200 day moving average is $190.28. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $256.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total transaction of $7,910,825.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,402,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,699,785.79. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 244,438 shares of company stock worth $53,216,085. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GOOGL. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.26.

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.

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