Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 1.9% – Should You Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares were up 1.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $158.83 and last traded at $159.21. Approximately 6,543,426 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 18,884,534 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.65.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.70 and a 200 day moving average of $178.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 87,992 shares of company stock worth $16,093,773 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $505,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $526,000. Atom Investors LP increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.9% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 16,517 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,733.2% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 123,192 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,596,000 after acquiring an additional 116,472 shares in the last quarter. 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.