Norges Bank Buys New Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 57,659,864 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,093,665,000. Alphabet makes up about 1.9% of Norges Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 4,442 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 113,221 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,529,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $1,737,000. Finally, IF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $400,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total value of $2,077,531.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 8,993 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.89, for a total value of $2,481,078.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,293,309.12. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 target price (up from $420.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Phillip Securities lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.00.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $365.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $350.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $327.36.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The information services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $109.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.96 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 6.71%.

Trending Headlines about Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet signed a major cloud-computing agreement with SpaceX, with reports putting the deal at about $920 million per month for 32 months, which could provide a meaningful revenue stream and reinforce demand for Google Cloud. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet’s municipal-bond debut drew strong investor demand, suggesting institutions still view the company as a high-quality borrower with flexible financing options. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors and analysts said the equity raise is a strategic move to accelerate AI infrastructure and may help Alphabet defend and expand its long-term leadership in search, cloud, and AI. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also appeared in commentary about AI-related partnerships, including potential indirect benefits from the SpaceX IPO and other cloud collaborations, but these are mostly longer-term strategic themes rather than immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street coverage focused heavily on Alphabet’s expanding capital expenditures, with some commentators warning that the AI buildout may be getting too expensive and could pressure free cash flow. Article Title

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a multinational technology holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Formed in 2015 through a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet serves as the parent to Google LLC and a portfolio of businesses collectively known as “Other Bets.” Google was originally founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Alphabet is led by CEO Sundar Pichai, who oversees Google and the broader company while the founders remain prominent shareholders and influential figures in the company’s history.

Alphabet’s core business centers on internet search and advertising, with Google Search and the company’s ad platforms (including Google Ads and AdSense) generating the majority of revenue by connecting advertisers with consumers worldwide.