Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Trading Up 0.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wolfe Research raised their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $230.00. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Alphabet traded as high as $193.21 and last traded at $190.68. 5,582,885 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 12,627,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.43.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $473,929.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,343.27. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.50.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

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.