Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-three brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine 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. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $206.44.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities downgraded Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $191.79 on Friday. Alphabet has a fifty-two week low of $130.66 and a fifty-two week high of $201.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.50.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for 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 last year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphabet

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

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.