South Dakota Investment Council Has $58.87 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 376,822 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 16,407 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.2% of South Dakota Investment Council's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Alphabet were worth $58,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG stock traded up $1.24 on Friday, reaching $185.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,915,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,587,144. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $174.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 0.45%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,695,000. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,245.74. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,843 shares of company stock valued at $37,288,490 in the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.40.

About Alphabet

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.