Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Price Target Raised to $240.00

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) had its target price boosted by Scotiabank from $212.00 to $240.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $201.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.21. Alphabet has a 12 month low of $131.55 and a 12 month high of $203.84. 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:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alphabet

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.