Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 0% – Here’s Why

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price traded up 0% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $201.42 and last traded at $196.70. 14,821,278 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 27,405,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.69.

Alphabet Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,987.28. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,957 shares of company stock worth $31,358,687 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.