Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $197.25 and last traded at $197.19. 2,502,493 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 19,807,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $177.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.26.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 0.40%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total transaction of $2,780,226.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,280,514.53. The trade was a 27.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $230,804.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,927,257.72. The trade was a 4.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,257 shares of company stock worth $31,243,187 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9,200.0% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% 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.