Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,274 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.1% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $55,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 26,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Alphabet by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 116,761 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,277,000 after acquiring an additional 6,377 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 302,874 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,684,000 after purchasing an additional 47,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 8,713 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $169.83. 15,132,966 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,754,559. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.79 and a 52-week high of $176.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total transaction of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,187.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,187.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Company 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.