Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,877,711 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 43,435 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $264,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 15,406 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 18,878 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 13,536 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,908,000 after buying an additional 4,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 78,258 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,029,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $167.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $104.50 and a one year high of $176.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,187.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,854,485.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 253,209 shares of company stock worth $36,711,144. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.