Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) were up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $202.12 and last traded at $201.08. Approximately 4,957,203 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 15,436,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.31.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $187.39 and its 200-day moving average is $175.23. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 282,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,329,576.64. The trade was a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,752,699 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,900,000 after buying an additional 65,058 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,404,515 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $257,616,000 after buying an additional 59,515 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $2,628,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 407.8% during the second quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.