Wedbush Issues Positive Forecast for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Price

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had its price objective boosted by Wedbush from $210.00 to $220.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.82.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $196.87 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.60. Alphabet has a one year low of $130.66 and a one year high of $201.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. 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. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.95, for a total transaction of $247,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,342,143.80. This represents a 5.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

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

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.