Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Trading Down 0.2% on Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s share price dropped 0.2% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $156.53 and last traded at $158.49. Approximately 3,867,833 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 18,855,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.88.

Specifically, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.65.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.06 and a 200-day moving average of $178.56.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $281,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,642,000 after buying an additional 14,738 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP grew its position in Alphabet by 172.9% in the third quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,254,000 after acquiring an additional 57,810 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by 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.