NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Has $17.41 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 2.4% of NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Veracity Capital LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 10,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 6,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its holdings in Alphabet by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 7,359 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its position in Alphabet by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 27,723 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,655,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Finally, Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 8,238 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 253,439 shares of company stock valued at $36,746,578. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $173.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.75. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.42 and a 12-month high of $176.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 25.90%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $165.67.

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.