KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,794,620 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,500 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.4% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Alphabet were worth $318,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,299,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,687,855 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 580,897.4% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 135,087,705 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $23,963,208,000 after acquiring an additional 135,064,454 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Alphabet by 9.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,971,861,000 after acquiring an additional 9,243,959 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,345,784 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,334,852,000 after buying an additional 1,098,996 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,380,073 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,183,979,000 after buying an additional 440,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp set a $265.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $241.00.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $242.21 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $256.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company's fifty day moving average is $226.01 and its 200-day moving average is $189.21. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 953 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $229,863.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,171,312.80. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.