Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 35,160 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 13.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 290,825 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,160 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.5% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $99,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $295.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $326.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $336.19. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $271.41 and a 52-week high of $404.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by ($0.89). Alphabet had a net margin of 50.03% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The business had revenue of $127.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.87 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 19.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 4.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $365.00 price target on Alphabet in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Citic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $430.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $445.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $413.38.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 83 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $28,257.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,494,424.20. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 247 shares of company stock valued at $79,238. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Top Alphabet Stories

These are some of the GOOG stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Google DeepMind introduced AlphaGenome 2, an AI model designed to help researchers interpret DNA and cellular activity. The launch highlights potential applications for Alphabet’s AI technology beyond its core businesses. Alphabet’s DeepMind unveils new AlphaGenome 2 model
• Positive Sentiment: Google and Samsung are preparing AI smart glasses for sale next month, while Google is also extending Gemini into Apple CarPlay. These launches could broaden Gemini’s reach across devices and platforms. Google and Samsung launch AI glasses pre-orders
• Neutral Sentiment: Alphabet’s cloud growth and cash generation remain part of the investment case, but commentary also flags the cost of its AI infrastructure expansion as a risk to cash flow and returns. 3 Unstoppable Dow Stocks to Buy in November

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet is a technology holding company whose primary business is Google. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google became part of Alphabet when the company adopted a holding-company structure in 2015. Sundar Pichai leads Alphabet and Google as chief executive officer. Google offers internet search, online advertising, cloud computing, and software and hardware products. Its services and products include Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Cloud.