Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 34,793 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 13.3%, now holding shares worth approximately $35.52 million.
• Several institutional investors have either increased or decreased their stakes in Alphabet, with GAMMA Investing LLC notably increasing its stake by over 18,500%.
• Alphabet recently reported earnings of $2.31 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates and demonstrating a 13.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,342 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 34,793 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. One Degree Advisors Inc increased its stake in Alphabet by 15.1% during the first quarter. One Degree Advisors Inc now owns 3,890 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Potentia Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Potentia Wealth now owns 5,462 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 18,044 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 86.3% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 147,619 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $23,063,000 after buying an additional 68,373 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Alphabet by 5.4% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,345,784 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,334,852,000 after buying an additional 1,098,996 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock traded up $4.71 on Friday, hitting $201.99. 5,389,899 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,026,020. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $181.28 and a 200-day moving average of $174.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

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.