KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $404.55 Million Investment in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,137,060 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $404,545,000. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.9% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% during the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $550,702.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,468,029.04. This represents a 13.70 % 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, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,665 shares of company stock worth $16,198,310 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.49.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $157.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.22 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.