Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $180.51 and last traded at $181.30. Approximately 3,433,997 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 19,533,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Company 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.