Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 0.5% in Q1, now holding 1,473,018 shares valued at approximately $230 million.
• Insider activity includes Kavitark Ram Shriram and Sundar Pichai selling shares, with a total of 249,409 shares sold in the last ninety days worth about $43.5 million.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Alphabet's stock, with twelve rating it as a buy and an average price target of $215.19.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,473,018 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,140 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.1% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Alphabet were worth $230,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter worth about $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock valued at $43,523,710. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $1.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $192.97. 15,813,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,222,178. The company's 50 day moving average is $176.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.