Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,086,153 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 160,676 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.2% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Alphabet worth $1,562,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Caliber Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,036 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 31,836 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 26,638 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. Raymond James lifted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.86.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $159.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $147.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.27. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $103.27 and a one year high of $161.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.