Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 487,700 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,100 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.7% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Alphabet were worth $92,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Denver PWM LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.62.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of GOOGL stock traded down $4.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $179.66. 35,094,289 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,166,218. The business has a 50 day moving average of $192.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.66 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

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.