State of Michigan Retirement System Buys 33,800 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,548,160 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,800 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.4% of State of Michigan Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Alphabet were worth $241,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covey Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Covey Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,188 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 33.8% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,173,396 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $492,677,000 after buying an additional 801,638 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the first quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Correct Capital Wealth Management grew its position in Alphabet by 2.9% during the first quarter. Correct Capital Wealth Management now owns 11,601 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,812,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Astra Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.7% during the first quarter. Astra Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $2.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $181.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,949,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,422,256. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $171.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.18. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $207.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Company 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.