Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS Acquires Shares of 15,282 Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 15,282 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,000. Alphabet accounts for about 0.7% of Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in Alphabet by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 134 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. KeyCorp set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Alphabet from $418.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price (up from $405.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Alphabet from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Alphabet from $460.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.09.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $387,061.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,941.03. This represents a 41.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Marsida Saraci sold 449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.72, for a total value of $153,432.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,345,358.56. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 159,415 shares of company stock worth $7,672,279 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GOOG opened at $319.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.70 and a 1-year high of $404.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $360.63 and a 200 day moving average of $337.38.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $6.24. The business had revenue of $119.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.53 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 54.77% and a return on equity of 51.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.34 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Monday, September 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 4.42%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet

Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alphabet posted a strong Q2 beat, with revenue and EPS coming in ahead of expectations, while Google Cloud revenue surged 82% and cloud margins improved sharply.
• Positive Sentiment: AI and product demand remain strong, with management saying AI usage is rising across Search, Cloud, and Gemini, supporting the long-term growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised targets, and multiple commentary pieces argued the stock looks attractive after the pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a deal worth more than $1 billion with Google for dark fiber connectivity, adding another sign of infrastructure demand tied to Alphabet’s data-center buildout. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Waymo is reportedly considering ending its Uber partnership, which could affect how quickly Alphabet’s robotaxi business scales, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet also disclosed a large SpaceX stake and saw some institutional holders trim positions, but these items are secondary to the main debate over AI spending and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were unnerved by Alphabet’s higher CapEx guidance and negative free cash flow, which raised concerns that AI spending may be outpacing near-term returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet was also hit by an EU antitrust fine of about $1 billion, adding another regulatory overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s warned that the industry-wide AI buildout could threaten credit quality at Alphabet and other hyperscalers, reinforcing concerns about balance-sheet strain from heavy infrastructure investment. Article Title

Alphabet Company 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.