Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Up 2.7% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stock price was up 2.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $207.77 and last traded at $208.15. Approximately 6,007,736 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 15,733,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $191.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 319,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,765,168.06. The trade was a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 122,529 shares of company stock valued at $22,453,483. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Alphabet by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 978,396 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $163,578,000 after purchasing an additional 47,171 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 22.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 66,213 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,070,000 after buying an additional 12,237 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 113,498 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,976,000 after buying an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 68.0% in the third quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% in the third quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 104,739 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,511,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.