Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 3.4% After Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares dropped 3.4% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $157.61 and last traded at $156.70. Approximately 9,270,728 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 25,863,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.24.

Specifically, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.59.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $180.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced 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%. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.