Nordea Investment Management AB Lowers Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,695,723 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 781,885 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.5% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.10% of Alphabet worth $2,429,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93,970 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $17,789,000 after purchasing an additional 11,834 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 5,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,303 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total value of $3,741,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,361,837.80. This represents a 1.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $191.79 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.66 and a 52-week high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.44.

About Alphabet

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.