State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its investment in Alphabet Inc. by 9.2%, holding 1,676,305 shares valued at approximately $261.89 million.
• Alphabet Inc. saw mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $215.19.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.4% and a low payout ratio of 8.95%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,676,305 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 170,366 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.2% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Alphabet were worth $261,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 111.8% in the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $204.91. 21,099,072 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,037,520. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market cap of $2.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 274,819 shares of company stock worth $49,796,547 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

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.