Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 131,773 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,110,583 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 131,773 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 2.0% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Alphabet were worth $588,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $3.75 on Tuesday, hitting $172.22. 20,232,406 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,713,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business's fifty day moving average is $158.67 and its 200 day moving average is $174.76. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 164,654 shares of company stock valued at $26,793,380 over the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

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.