Norges Bank Takes Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 27,127,023 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,166,070,000. Alphabet makes up about 0.7% of Norges Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,092,000. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 6,410 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. now owns 117,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,377,000 after purchasing an additional 39,500 shares during the period. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 73,447 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,987,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $167.14 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.20 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.36.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.