Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Down 1.2% After Insider Selling

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) dropped 1.2% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $159.23 and last traded at $159.55. Approximately 4,062,797 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 19,357,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.47.

Specifically, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total transaction of $32,380.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,544.70. This represents a 2.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued 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 $208.71.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.83.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the first quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,548 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 13,943 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Members Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Members Wealth LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 27,330 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.8% during the first quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,372 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

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.