Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading 1.5% Higher

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) traded up 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $167.39 and last traded at $167.08. 6,711,346 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 22,683,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $150.09 and its 200 day moving average is $143.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total transaction of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,187.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total transaction of $41,853.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,187.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 253,289 shares of company stock valued at $36,724,534. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

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

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.