Swedbank AB Acquires 118,899 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,503,828 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,899 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.0% of Swedbank AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,609,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Denver PWM LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total value of $3,975,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at $364,259,266.02. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $191.60 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $190.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. China Renaissance raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Pivotal Research boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

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.