Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 231,514 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,218,958 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 231,514 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.5% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Alphabet were worth $422,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $281,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 140.6% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 14,734 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,806,000 after buying an additional 8,610 shares during the period. Finally, Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $927,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $3.76 on Tuesday, hitting $173.35. 13,216,955 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,093,505. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $160.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

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.