California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 160,676 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,086,153 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 160,676 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.2% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,562,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2 %

GOOG opened at $159.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.92 and its 200 day moving average is $142.27. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.27 and a fifty-two week high of $161.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $3,541,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,303,011 shares in the company, valued at $362,516,961.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,854,485.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.86.

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.