Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $164.37 and last traded at $163.80. 11,350,889 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 29,716,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.22 and a 200 day moving average of $176.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,882 shares of company stock worth $17,934,130 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schear Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 33,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 25,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,516 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 61,540 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,164 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,385,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.