Norges Bank Takes $18.09 Billion Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 57,659,864 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,093,665,000. Alphabet comprises about 1.9% of Norges Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.48% of Alphabet as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 4,442 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 113,221 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,529,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $1,737,000. Finally, IF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $400,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Alphabet News

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 Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $365.76 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $350.06 and a 200-day moving average of $327.36. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $404.47.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.00, for a total transaction of $38,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,721 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,701. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder 2019 Gp L.L.C. Gv sold 87,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.75, for a total transaction of $2,077,531.25. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.00.

About Alphabet

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.