Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 1.4%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares were up 1.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $165.88 and last traded at $165.16. Approximately 3,646,758 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 27,569,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.74.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.0 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $118,572.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,209,888.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total value of $3,772,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,159,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,126,319.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $118,572.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,966 shares in the company, valued at $5,209,888.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,565 shares of company stock valued at $26,823,893 in the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 214,443 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,956,000 after purchasing an additional 76,410 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $787,000. New Hampshire Trust boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Matisse Capital grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 16,781 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, Berkshire Money Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $359,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% 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.