Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 317,639 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 20,587 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.3% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Alphabet were worth $60,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Enhancing Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,155,000. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,525,560 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $288,789,000 after buying an additional 6,882 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $101,592,000. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 9,192 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 586,569 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $111,038,000 after acquiring an additional 21,088 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Westpark Capital upgraded shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.49.
View Our Latest Report on GOOGL
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $157.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,682,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,382,781. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $147.22 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $177.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 is presently 9.94%.
Insider Activity at Alphabet
In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 88,665 shares of company stock worth $16,198,310 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.
Alphabet Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alphabet wasn't on the list.
While Alphabet currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
