Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Kentucky Retirement Systems’ 9th Largest Position

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 330,064 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,546 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.9% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $62,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,193,768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,655,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,557,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,247,208,000 after acquiring an additional 259,213 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,573,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113,395 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,578,793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,843,149,000 after acquiring an additional 264,962 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,987.28. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $181.19 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.55 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $2.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Alphabet 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.