Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,436,271 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 54,788 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.3% of Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Alphabet were worth $273,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of GOOG traded up $4.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $173.98. The company had a trading volume of 24,291,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,134,876. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $160.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.94.

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.