Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Down 1% – Time to Sell?

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) traded down 1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $188.51 and last traded at $189.30. 17,430,271 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 27,460,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GOOGL. Scotiabank upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.69.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $473,929.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,406,343.27. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,519 shares of company stock valued at $27,734,316 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 33,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 4.5% during the third quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 27.9% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 25,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 5,516 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 6,305,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,037,196,000 after acquiring an additional 611,233 shares during the period. Finally, StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,509 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.