California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 576,771 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,103,866 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 576,771 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.4% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Alphabet worth $2,114,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $156.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.20 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,812 shares of company stock worth $19,336,979 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.56.

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.