Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Boosts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 0.8%, owning 1,256,496 shares valued at approximately $194 million.
• Insiders at Alphabet, including Director Kavitark Ram Shriram and CEO Sundar Pichai, have sold significant shares recently, amounting to 249,409 shares valued at over $43 million in the past ninety days.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, yielding 0.44%, with the payment set for September 15th to stockholders of record from September 8th.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,256,496 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,304 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.8% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Alphabet were worth $194,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Perritt Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Enzi Wealth boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $4.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $192.04. The stock had a trading volume of 18,906,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,930,727. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $177.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction, the director owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,298 shares of company stock valued at $43,505,967. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.