Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 0.3% – Time to Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock price traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $168.22 and last traded at $166.34. 4,548,269 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 27,295,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.14.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.06 and a 200 day moving average of $167.28.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 26.70% and a return on equity of 30.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.27%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,927,257.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.75, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,385,565. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.84, for a total value of $230,804.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,927,257.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 217,592 shares of company stock worth $35,922,911 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $787,000. New Hampshire Trust increased its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% in the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 43,714 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,963,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Money Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 6,374 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 1,951,860 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $272,655,000 after purchasing an additional 200,891 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.